Monday night, electro-rock-pop goddess Ladyhawke, also known as Phillipa Margaret “Pip” Brown, took to The Echoplex’s stage like a true veteran. Pip’s tour with American Royalty only enriched her love of performing, which she undoubtedly has a knack for. It is the perfect blend of modern girl grunge and electric indie pop. A purist at heart, she delivers raw live music that is garage pop-tastic in all the right ways. The edgy rasp of the guitar and the wavy steady pangs of the keys blended well with her smooth, unassuming voice, reminiscent of a younger Maja from The Sounds.
She opened the night with “Back of the Van” from her self-titled album. Boasting a major nineteen-song show, New Zealand native Ladyhawke played into every fan’s fantasy set list, touching every hit and maintaining a steady flow of tempo.
Alternating between a few songs from her sophomore album Anxiety then more from Ladyhawke, Pip found the perfect way to tell her story. By the time she reached perhaps one of her most recognizable tunes, “Magic,” the chummy Kat Von D and Deadmau5 were scared away by the dance mob, but that did not deter the rest of the audience from relishing in the remainder of the set. Moving into “Love Don’t Live Here” and “Vanity,” slowed the pace only for a quick stretch – just enough time for the cool kids to catch their breath. Then it was back to business closing out the main set with “Sunday Drive” and of course, “Paris Is Burning.”
By the time she returned for her encore, the boys were shirtless and the room was breezy from bouncing bodies, all evidence of a top night. In homage to an inspirational female-fronted group, she came back to the stage to play Jefferson Airplane’s “White Rabbit,” doing it every bit of justice a cover performance should demonstrate. After much beckoning from the crowd throughout the night, Ladyhawke finished the night with “Gone Gone Gone” and “My Delieium.” To no audience member’s dismay, the set was the perfect amount of electric dance fun.
Set list as follows:
Back of the Van
Blue Eyes
Girl Like Me
Anxiety
Professional Suicide
Magic
Dusk Till Dawn
Black, White, and Blue
The Quick and the Dead
Love Don’t Live Here
Cellophane
Vanity
Better Than Sunday
Vaccine
Sunday Drive
Paris Is Burning
Encore
White Rabbit
Gone Gone Gone
My Delirium
Leave a Comment