Live Review: Grimes at The Rickshaw Stop
Grimes drew sold-out crowd of eager audiophiles to her headlining Noise Pop set at Rickshaw Stop last night.
Grimes (aka Claire Boucher) walked onstage rocking an oversized army jacket, lace-up leather boots and jeans, her iconic bangs pushed back by a headband to reveal a dab of ash on her forehead. Her stage presence is magnetic. Boucher carries the genuine persona of up-and-coming performer that is part deer-in-headlights awkwardness mixed with an energetic, carefree appearance and an overwhelming amount of talent.
She doesn’t seem to realize just how big the name Grimes is becoming. Though her performance was confident and displayed great vocal and technical strength, there wasn’t a bit of the egoist pop star attitude that is far too common among performers her genre.
Boucher has a dichotomized appearance. Though both sides of her are hypnotic, she’s able switch on her Grimes persona, suddenly transforming from a petite and slightly nervous girl from Montreal to adopting a vibrant, ethereal, passionate attitude. Suddenly she will go back to being Claire, apologizing for the delay and calling out to the sound controller right before her closing song, “Nightmusic.”
“I want to leave it on as I walk offstage, is that okay?” It is probable that very soon Boucher’s cautiousness may fade away in trade for unmistakable confidence.
The juxtaposition of Boucher’s uber high-pitched vocals and the hardness of the bass on songs like “Oblivion” and “Be A Body” made these songs clear favorites of the crowd. It’s incredible what high octaves she can reach and still make it seem effortless. For most of her set, Grimes was moving around between her keyboard, her Juno synthesizer and her microphone, showing off her high-energy DIY skills. Boucher creates all of her own music, so it was no surprise to see her putting on a show as she darted back and forth. When she played “Genesis,” the first single off her new album Visions, Boucher was joined by the members of opening band Born Gold and a barefoot dancing friend. At this point, everyone on stage wore identical painted-on shimmering red raccoon eyes, giving Boucher and her crew a tribal appearance as they played, the dancing audience feeding off their vibrant energy. Grimes is not just an artist to listen to, she’s puts on a captivating show and she’s one to watch.
