REVIEW: LP @ House of Blues 2/18
By Katarzyna Jezak
Photos by Kristen Berg
On Presidents’ Day, LP brought her Heart to Mouth tour to the House of Blues, Boston, and performed in front of a mystified crowd especially overflowing with women of all ages, bringing a delightful, juicy female energy to the gig. LP was nowhere to be seen until about two hours after doors opened to the public, but the stage was already illuminated with blue and purple light, and soon, fabric screens displaying projections of forests were installed to heighten the magic of the performance.
As opener Korey Dane promised at the end of his act, watching LP perform live is a mystical experience that could never truly be matched by listening to her recorded music. There’s just something about hearing the raw texture of someone’s voice in a live performance that is so special; you are able to hear all of the bare and undistorted elements of LP’s unique voice that is impossible to experience in listening to recordings. The New York-born singer appeared onstage fashionably late, and fashionably in general, clad in a bright blue collared shirt, a red vest with a star pin, colorful beads, and a bandana to hold back her signature shaggy curls. Under the vibrant and dramatic lights, LP resembled the lovechild of a male rock star from the 70s and a Sapphic goddess. She started off the show with the first song from her Heart to Mouth album, the haunting piece “Dreamcatcher.”
The “Girls Go Wild” singer trapped the crowd under a spell of awe as she showed off her unique voice and astonishing vocal range during “When We’re High.” As she hit the high notes, audience members turned to each other in amazement. When LP ran to serenade fans on one side of the stage, everyone on the other side was brought slightly back down to Earth (but only slightly). LP’s energized performance was supplemented with a little ukulele side-action. At one point, she even detached the microphone from the stand and sang into it, while holding the mic stand over her head, singing her heart out so hard that the tendons were straining on her neck.
Along with seventeen of her original songs, LP performed two powerful covers: a rendition of “Sex On Fire” by Kings of Leon, and one of “Paint It Black” by the Rolling Stones. After about an hour and a half-long set, the indie singer ended the gig with a three-song encore, which included the poignant and rhythmic “Muddy Waters,” the upbeat and optimistic piece “Strange,” and the long-anticipated hit song, “Lost On You.” The last moments of the concert saw people dancing with friends and enthusiastic strangers alike, including a few dapper middle-aged women and even a young man spinning around in his wheelchair to the beat of the music. After the show, I truly felt like I understood LP much better as a vocalist, and not just as a songwriter. LP’s Heart to Mouth tour will continue through the spring, bringing live renditions of songs from her new album, which has been out since December, to many more fans across North America and Europe, including those from Mexico, Canada, France, Great Britain, Ireland, and the Netherlands.
See below for more photos from the show:
