I am going to get a tremendous amount of shit from my heavy metal friends for this one, but who really cares. I have a thing for Charli XCX. Not only because she’s incredibly attractive (I think it’s ok to say that because my wife has a crush on Mason Jennings), but more importantly because she’s got attitude and substance. Out of all the generic pop stars out there Charli has a sort of punk rock I don’t give a f**k mindset that I think is missing from much of the crap cluttering up the last of the available airwaves.
She reminds me of a very polished Joan Jett. On top of that she has a full band behind her that really kicks ass. When I heard that she was coming to the Fox Theater in Oakland I had to be there to photograph what was sure to be an epic pop show. I didn’t really care who was opening the show that night as I just really wanted to see Charli, but then BØRNS hit the stage and completely blew me away.
After a bit of research, I discovered that these guys are on Interscope and have a pretty good buzz behind them based on one of their songs being featured in a car commercial. The song is called “Electric Love” and the only bad thing about it is that apparently Taylor Swift tweeted about it (by the way that’s not a selling point to your target audience).
Bleachers were a pretty good added bonus as well. I’d never seen them either before and they rounded out the bill quite well. Jack Antonoff is one hell of a performer and had one of the most elaborate stage set ups I’ve ever seen at the Fox. It was so goddamn big that I could barely get any shots of the rest of the band from the photo pit.
Finally Charli XCX took the stage. She came out and completely owned this entire crowd. While I didn’t exactly get the enormous toy guitar, everything else about her performance was pretty spectacular. Her rebellious school girl persona aligns perfectly with the sort of heroin-chic vibe she has going on, but more importantly it was backed up by some pretty strong vocals. Not something you see at too many pop shows anymore outside of a Pink show.
Highlights from the set included “Breaking Up,” “London Queen,” and of course the pop masterpiece “Break the Rules.” There was also a spirited version of Icona Pop’s international smash “I Love It” which features Charli that I used to hate until I heard it performed by her band live.
Oh, and Charli’s record Sucker is now available on vinyl and of course I picked it up. It sits proudly on my record shelf between Iron Maiden and Slayer. Now if only there could be a collaboration…
BLEACHERS
BØRNS
CHARLI XCX
Check out hi-res photos of Charli XCX in the gallery here.