The stunning Charli XCX visited the 9:30 Club last Thursday night for a late-late show and performed an amazing set in full-blown pop icon fashion. Playing to a sold out and very enthusiastic audience, the 22 year old English songstress provided ample reason for her DC area fans to believe that she is indeed “so fancy.”
Accompanied by her band, the aptly named Charli’s Angels, Miss XCX hit the stage like an explosion wearing a white and blue cheerleader’s outfit with the title of her forthcoming new album, Sucker printed across the front of her chest. Her band, a classic three-piece—guitar, bass, and drums, and dressed as her backup cheerleading squad—lent her sound a raw, punky-rock edge to it. I loved it right from the first chord.
With her stunning good looks and the flawless delivery of her semi-choreographed dance moves, Charli owned the stage in a way that she never has before. If the audience is any indication, they hung onto every moment of the night’s performance and screamed louder and louder as the evening went on, singing along with every word of every song.
Since the last time I saw her perform at DC’s U Street Music Hall in 2013, it’s clear that Charli’s celebrity has reached a much larger scale in the US and shows no signs of slowing down. Playing bigger venues just gives her more room to dance and more space to show her fans a good time. Her high level energy certainly rubbed off on the crowd and seemed to elevate the volume in the club to near deafening levels. I was personally amazed by the tightness of her band and the solid sound of her vocal performance and vocal rhythms. All in all, simply one hell of a show.
Right before her last song of the night, Charli took a minute to speak from the heart to the 9:30 Club audience saying that she “had been looking forward to playing the 9:30 Club for her whole tour” and that she “loves it here” and “can’t wait to come back.” If endless dancing, constant smiles, and hands raised toward roof for the entire show are any indication of just how her DC fans feel, I would say that DC loves Charlie XCX right back and she’s welcome here anytime.
Her set list included a mix of fan favorites and even a few new cuts from her upcoming, December 2014 release, Sucker. Titles included “Fancy,” “I Love It!,” “Break the Rules,” “Sucker,” and “Boom Clap.”
Swedish Rapper Elliphant and the pop inspired Femme had the honors of being the opening acts of the night. Both were a lot of fun.
CHARLI XCX
ELLIPHANT
FEMME
