Detroit, MI - It was another amazing night when Lights, accompanied by co-headlining tour mates, The Mowgli’s and special guest K. Flay, blasted into Detroit’s St. Andrew’s Hall with all the sound, energy, and intensity of a Michigan storm front! The tour began roughly a year after the release of the Canadian synth-pop artist’s newest album, Little Machines, which features well-known single “Up We Go”. It is no secret why Lights has found herself successful. Her music is uplifting with catchy beats and we at DR2 have always enjoyed and is a steady feature in our playlists.
The night began with special guest K. Flay, who had just joined the tour. Detroit was her first show! Even then, new to the tour, and performing, as every opening act, in the limited space she was given while surrounded by the headliner’s equipment, she was able to create such energy on stage that it was hard to believe she was just an opening act. Her unique sound and amazing live performance stood out amongst opening acts we’ve seen before. This girl can flat-out wail! With a unique voice that is patented pop gold in tone, but with just a hint of Janis Joplin-esque soul, K Flay was fantastic. The Dr2 crew’s opinion is that it would be wise to keep note of this rising star. We could easily see her having a big year with even bigger shows.
Up next was The Mowgli’s, who delivered an outstanding, high energy performance. We weren’t really sure what to expect going in. Not being very familiar with the Mowgli’s music. But with pitch-perfect harmonies, tight vocals, and Songs like I’m Good , you couldn’t help but , well, feel good, really good…Ha. To be serious, they really impressed us and we would absolutely catch their show again. With their charm and almost over-the-top niceness you can’t help but smile as you listen. They certainly put on an entertaining show. One that will stick with us for a long time.
As much as we love Lights in our headphones, we were amazed at just how much her show flat-out rocked! You could tell the crowd was anxious as the stage was cleared and Light’s stage crew began setting up a collection of decorative screens, each held up by large black, square frames that ran the entire length of the stage. It wasn’t clear what their purpose was until the first notes signaling the start of the Lights show filled the hall, literal “lights”, which were set into the entire perimeter of the black frames, began flashing. Paired with the dark screens, it created an excellent entrance and lead-in to her first song, From All Sides. It was made even more powerful as she strutted across the stage and ripped the black screens from the lit frames and revealed the rest of her band, and a second set of lighted frames, behind them. It created such an intensely enjoyable atmosphere with such energy and liveliness that it was impossible not to let go and enjoy yourself. From there, it only got better. She followed with her popular songs Siberia and Muscle Memory amongst others. After Same Sea, Lights decided to slow it down. She played two songs, Meteorites and Peace Sign acoustic. While some songs just don’t sound right acoustic, it was almost like these two were improved by the change. They made the heartfelt message from each really hit home and gave a bit of a sad but hopeful feel to that part of the set. The last song performed acoustically, Lights did what few do. She asked the audience what song they wanted to hear performed live and acoustic. After the mob was done screaming, she decided on Quiet and ended her acoustic session. After, as mentioned previously, they resumed their full-on, full band, pop revival. Lifting the crowd back up to the same level and beyond where they had been before the acoustic break!
Overall, this show was intense from start to finish. Each act exuded such oomph that it was impossible to ignore any of them. Each artist was able to shine as bright as the next and create an enjoyable show for any who were lucky enough to be there. As we walked out of St Andrew’s Hall that night, tired in that happy way that a great show makes you, the DR2 crew couldn’t stop talking about what we had just experienced. One thing we all agreed on, that anyone who has a chance to catch any of the shows left on this tour needs to make it happen. Be sure to check out all the images over in the Dr2 Photo Gallery!