GRIMES at the Danforth Music Hall, Sunday, November 22. Rating: NNNN
Grimes rejected the term pop star in a recent interview with NOW, which might seem like a semantic quibble, but there is something undeniably exciting about artists – especially female and/or queer artists – who seem more interested in charting their own course rather than in fighting to be part of established (and often conservative) institutions.
Watching Claire Boucher onstage at the Danforth Music Hall, her performance brought to mind iconoclastic instigators such as M.I.A. and The Knife thanks to the show’s emphasis on communal energy and dance.
Her Rhinestone Cowgirls tour essentially looked like Montreal’s costumes-encouraged DIY loft scene transposed to the stage. Boucher appeared in a pair of fairy wings, framed by synths and samplers and shrouded in glowing smoke and rave-y strobes. Two dancers – brandishing laser pointers, sais and ribbon wands at various points – interpreted her jittery energy into free-form choreography with a jerky, athletic precision.
Although the latest Grimes record, Art Angels, added pop-rock riffs and sunny California twang to her repertoire, the hour-long set skewed heavily to her more familiar fantasy electronic side, with older songs such as Symphonia IX (My Wait Is U) and Be A Body remixed into extended rave-ups.
The vibe might have been DIY, but Boucher has clearly made an effort to upsize her sound. Singles Oblivion, Genesis, Go and REALiTi also had added muscle and were met with roars from the crowd. She reciprocated the energy, frequently helicoptering her long braid while head banging.
Despite being sick and having to keep a medicinal throat spray close at hand, her high-pitched vocals sounded good but at times low in the occasionally boomy sound mix. Of course, she also had competition from the die-hards in the front.
“You guys are screaming so loud it’s actually peaking in my mic,” she said. “Which is a good sign.”
kevinr@nowtoronto.com | @kevinritchie
