La Roux / Photo by Amber Gregory
British electro-pop duo La Roux may not have ended up winning this year's Mercury Prize, as fellow Brit Lily Allen and others had hoped, but they did make a lasting impression on those lucky enough to catch them at San Francisco's Cafe Du Nord last July.
In fact, the sold-out show and subsequent tour was such a success that the band went on to play the Great American Music Hall--a much larger venue--a short three months later, in mid-October. Their self-titled debut album was released in the United States on September 29th, making it even more impressive that so many turned up to see them play in July with Los Angeles-based band Io Echo.
Amid news that songstress Elly Jackson and collaborator Ben Langmaid are due to begin writing La Roux' second album over Christmas, it seemed a fitting time to take a look back.
Cafe Du Nord was crowded. The sold-out show on a balmy July night didn't help the temperature inside, which combined with humidity had climbed to the upper limits of tolerable. Opening act IO Echo did a great job working up the crowd, and while the eager audience waited for La Roux to take the stage, a DJ kept them bobbing their heads to a series of electro remixes. A problem with Elly Jackson's earpiece kept the duo from starting on time, and though many were beginning to grow impatient, a popular remix of Ting Tings' "That's Not My Name" had the sizeable number of twentysomething females in the audience dancing and singing out loud.
Upon the duo's ascent to the stage, the crowd went wild. Elly Jackson was clearly surprised and somewhat embarrassed by the enthusiastic reception. The crowd seemed just as surprised by her shyness. That soft spoken nature (she was told to speak up while talking to the audience even though she was using a microphone) contrasted with the decidedly loud nature of her sparkly sequined jacket, high-waisted pants and silver sparkled shoes
Vocally, if anyone in the room had doubted Elly's talent, by the end of the night they were a true believer. Perfectly on pitch, her vocals sounded like they were right off of the album. She has incredible control over her voice and manages to make her style--with its unusual and ear-catching combination of strength and delicacy--look easy. The difference in her stage presence while singing compared to the shyness she exhibited while talking to the audience or accepting praise from them was striking.
The audience was a dream this night--though the album wouldn't be released in the U.S. for another two months, this crowd already knew all the words to "Bulletproof" and "In For The Kill," and did not hold back telling Elly Jackson exactly how they felt about her. One eager fan shouted repeatedly "I LOVE YOU LA ROUX! HOW DID YOU GET YOUR HAIR TO STAY UP LIKE THAT?!" until being loudly told to stop by a companion. Others would simply yell "WE LOVE YOU LA ROUX!" because it made Elly Jackson blush.
That the band chose to begin their next trip across the U.S. in San Francisco is not insignificant, and San Franciscans have clearly felt this talented duo with a very bright future feel at home here.
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