Little Dragon

Little Dragon

Nov 07

Where better for an electro-dance ‘Ritual Union’ than a former church?

 

Where: Saint Luke’s
When: 1 November 2017
Support: Ross From Friends

Little Dragon, from Gothenburg in Sweden, have over the course of five albums, the latest being Season High, proved themselves to be quality purveyors of electronic dance music. It is then perhaps a little sad, in terms of reflecting a weak appeal to Glasgow punters, that this gig had to be moved from its original venue (O2 ABC – capacity 1,300) to the much smaller Saint Luke’s (capacity 350). For those of us who went, however, the move was a blessing – the band was among true and very appreciative fans who were rewarded with an intimate gig propelled along by the band’s usual hi-energy.

The three male members of the band – Erik Bodin (dr), Fredrik Källgren (keys, bs), Håkan Wirenstrand (keys) – provide the bedrock of syncopated, at times glitchy, rhythms that make your feet move (Erik’s drumming deserves a special pat on the back). However, all the band’s stage presence is provided by vocalist Yukimi Nagano – the combination of simple, colourful veils over her clothes and an eye-catching hat produce a startlingly, enjoyable effect. More importantly, she is on excellent vocal form. She bounces around the stage with increasing glee, occasionally pounding out some percussion. According to Wiki the band’s name comes from the furious tantrums Yukimi used to throw in the recording studio but tonight all her energy is positive.

The set draws from all their albums and reflects every aspect of their sound. So more soulful songs bump up against techno and trance and the electro dance-pop at which they excel. Highlights include ‘A New’, ‘The Pop Life’, ‘High’, ‘Klapp Klapp’ and ‘Ritual Union’ (one of their most popular tracks and one which required a dress change for Yukimi). But the best moment of the gig came with the very last song of the encore; it says something about the confidence of the band that they end their very upbeat, dance-propelled set with the something completely different, the much more subdued ‘Twice’ (the first track on their first eponymous album). It is built on a very simple repetitive keyboard stroke but is given its power by the wonderfully controlled singing.

LD are one of those bands whose live performances inject their recorded material with greater exuberance and the smiles on the faces of the punters as they left the gig was all the testimony needed to show that tonight they again delivered – leaving us all on a natural high.

 

 

Band page

Sample video