Little Boots at Highline Ballroom—March 3, 2010

On Tuesday March 3, New York had the honor of being the first stop of British recording artist Little Boots’ US tour.  Some critics like to describe her as Lady Gaga meets Lily Allen.  One journalist referred to her as “Baby Gaga.”  From the first song of the show, Boots blew the roof off the intimate Highline Ballroom, simultaneously shedding the Baby Gaga misconception and solidifying her place in the recording industry.

            Stepping on stage wearing a hood and looking ethereal, Boots (real name Victoria Hesketh) kicked off the show in style with the slow ballad “Ghost”.  As soon as the haunting song ended, Boots literally jumped right into her biggest UK hit “New in Town”, with synthesizers pumping and feet stomping.  I thought this was a genius move—it set the tone for the entire show, in which Boots would jump back and forth seamlessly and effortlessly between calm and fast paced tunes.  Each song showcased her beautiful and airy voice.  For such a heavily produced album, I went into the concert with low expectations, but Boots’ vocal prowess proved to be flawless.

Her amazing enthusiasm brought the concert to new levels of fun—here is an artist who truly loves what she’s doing and it shows.  At times she even seemed to be having more fun than the audience, giggling and banging her star shaped tambourine on her leg.  While fiddling with her instruments, she apologized for spending so much time playing around commenting that “I’m like a little girl up here, thanks for letting me have my fun!”  Her confidence shone through like one of the lasers that hovered over the audience, but the great thing about her is that she knows she isn’t perfect.  She premiered a new song based on the Twilight novels, which she acknowledged was “pretty douchey!”

            Boots showed her true artistry when she whipped out such instruments as her laser harp, key-tar, and her Tenori-On.  Ever the whimsical innovator, Boots has spent the past few months hard at work creating a musical instrument that she calls a “laser harp.”  Words can’t describe the thing; the picture above does it justice.  Her key-tar (a combination keyboard and guitar) growled with glee when Boots’ fingers danced across the keys.  The singer seemed to be genuinely having a blast when she fiddled with her Tenori-On; it looked like a large pad with a grid pattern on it.  Each row on the grid seemed to correspond to a noise (some musical notes, some human sounds).  Each column corresponded to a second in time; a line of light traveled across the grid every eight seconds or so that played the notes she had pressed.  She used it several times throughout the show, whirling her hands around like a tornado, using the device to sample such musicians as Peaches (riffing on her hit “Fuck the Pain Away”) and, surprisingly, Kelly Clarkson (who knew “I Do Not Hook Up” fit in so perfectly her hit “Remedy”?).

            I have to also commend her excellent backing band.  Someone humorously pointed out her “all star cast” of a band, including what looked like John Lennon on synthesizer and a Karen O doppelganger on the keyboard.  Both performers provided excellent supporting vocals and kept up with their restless star.

            After this tour, Little Boots will never be mistaken for other artists again.  She has singlehandedly solidified her place in the music business.  She has proven that she is a unique, engaging, and exciting artist whose creativity and talent are unsurpassed by her American counterparts.