by eliza czander
If you wanted pop last night you should’ve been at the Bowery Ballroom. Shit was popalicious. Headlining the evening was UK it girl Little Boots, but ahead of her was the electro-pop foursome Yes Giantess. Their sound is as infectious as it is repetetive. Derivation is the key word here, as I could hear people nearby comparing them to the likes of MGMT, Chromeo, and Passion Pit. Even so, no one really seemed to mind as they rolled through their debut CD, stopping only in between to tell the audience their name again. Make no mistake, these guys are total geeks from Boston who just want to make you dance. I initially had some issues with lead singer Jan Rosenfield’s voice, but realizing how much better it sounded on their recorded material made me realize that the band just needs some more time to perfect their live tracks, to really get it right. Until then, synthesizers unite!
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Pop Wednesday continued, and roared even louder once Little Boots took the stage. Donning some Lady Gaga looking blue sequined number, young Victoria hit that stage with some real pop-power. The girl has pipes and energy, and most definitely has some serious stage presence. When the opening beat for favorite “Meddle” came on, people actually danced. New Yorkers, dancing! Twas fantastic. I mean, sure this wasn’t the alternative, plaid-shirted indie minded crowd I find myself surrounded by at most shows – made very apparent, when the house lights came on revealing TONS of young gay hipsters making out and stumbling out of the Ballroom – nevertheless, anything that’s going to make folks dance is cool with me.
She’s only got one album out (Hands), so it was a fairly short show, but 40 minutes of moving in front of some blinding flashing lights was all it took to keep people screaming and smiling well after she’d left the stage. No doubt this young lady has cracked the US dance music scene, and after last night’s show, it’s fairly obvious her fame will continue to grow, most likely landing her first ipod commercial early next year. In a land where over-intellectualized and interesting music is roaming tall, it seems pop music is making a bit of a comeback. Hopefully it will be better this time around than it was in the 90’s.
