San Francisco – “In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment… But the bitter truth we critics must face, is that in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.”
I can’t help but think of this rather poignant quote from the end of Ratatouille—the Pixar® movie in which a rat controls a human to cook yummy French food—when I sit down to write a review of a pop show. I harbor no dislike towards Bleachers—the indie-pop outfit that gleefully stands stalwart behind the solo effort of fun.’s Jack Antonoff—nor do I for Charli XCX; it’s just that I have such rare opportunity to highlight the strengths and promise of modern mainstream music…a rare position I find myself in, mind you. There are moments when I am scanning through radio FM radio stations and am unable to distinguish one song from the next, but tonight, this reach for distinction never presented itself as a necessity: I was thoroughly impressed.
American indie-rock/pop quintet Bleachers, along with the UK’s latest juvenile-yet-altogether-charming/challenging darling Charli XCX decided some time ago to tour the United States as one entity: embarking on a co-headlining tour that just started mere days ago and stretches all the way through mid-autumn. For those who have followed Charli XCX’s career from the very beginning—as I have—the pairing seems unlikely at first glance, though seeing them perform back-to-back makes a whole lot of sense, somehow. Both performers—as well as their backing musicians—played to the boisterous yet somehow modest crowd with uninhibited energy, as they strutted with deserved fantasy and arrogance from one end of the stage to the other, causing cacophonous eruptions with single movements of an arm. Their love for the crowd (bafflingly young, by the way)—and of the venue, which is gorgeous by the way—monopolized the audience’s attention; they paid no care to the fact that they were not playing to a sold-out crowd. Honestly Oakland just isn’t a mainstream-kind of town, but the crowd that did show up definitely made their voices heard.
I managed to catch a little bit of Bleachers’ set at last year’s Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, and honestly, I was impressed. This time, seeing Antonoff and his band indoors, they seemed far more exuberant. Their cover of The Cranberries’ ‘90s single “Dreams” was a perfectly executed, as were the many songs they played from their debut album, including “Wake Me” (easily the slowest jam of the set), “Shadow,” “Reckless Love,” and “Wild Heart.” We were also treated to the band’s main single “Rollercoaster,” as well as a lengthy version of “You’re Still A Mystery,” during which Antonoff not only introduced his band (hailing from everywhere from Maine to New Orleans to Washington), he also engaged in a playful instrumental battle with his mates. “You’re Still A Mystery” is Antonoff’s best impression of Bruce Springsteen—and a damn good one too—as it carried on for several minutes and featured a delicious saxophone solo as well as raspy, repeated vocals that brought the Boss to mind; appropriate as Antonoff (as well as one of his drummers is from New Jersey, the Boss’s home state). Bleachers closed out their set with an enthusiastic Kanye West cover (“Only One”), as well as a flashy rendition of their Strange Desire track “I Wanna Get Better.” Like I said: not my usual style, but thank God someone in the mainstream/alternative sphere is at least keeping people on their toes. Ultimately it was Antonoff’s boisterous and energetic presence—along with the matched enthusiasm of his four band mates (two drummers, and two multi-instrumentalists)–that carried the show. This isn’t to say anything against the music of Bleachers, just an honest opinion of a reviewer who is admittedly unfamiliar. The whole thing was quite enthralling, especially for an outsider.
Similar things can be said about the other co-headliner, UK youngster-turned-pop-icon Charli XCX. Draped in what looked like a black bikini cowering behind a Cruella DeVille-designed fur jacket (complete with heart-shaped Dalmatian patches) and rather impressively intricate black heels, Charli XCX pranced effortlessly from end of the stage to the other, highlighting tracks from her latest (sophomore) release Sucker, which was released at the tail end of 2014. Sucker is Charli’s pop-breakthrough album, bridging the gap between indie obscurity and CBS radio, a phenomenon that seems to happen far brisker than it did in the days before computers.
Charli was good. Honestly she was probably the highlight of the night. But things have changed for the UK singer in the years since the release of her excellent, excellent debut LP True Romance back in 2013. Most notably, she seems to have lost her ‘indie cred,’ a mostly made-up facet of one’s success that most independent artists tacitly dream to rid themselves of one day. True Romance saw a girl that was both achingly vulnerable but at the same time tenaciously vicious. Sucker follows a different path—a path leading to another kind of enlightenment, and we have to respect that. With club-boppers like “Sucker,” “Break the Rules,” “Need Ur Luv,” “London Queen,” and the inevitable “Boom Clap” that we see Charli settling comfortably into a well-carved niche. Yet it is tracks like the punkish “Allergic to Love,” True Romance’s “Grins,” and Charli’s joyous “cover” of Icona Pop’s “I Love It” (it’s not really a cover, she provided most—if not all—of the vocals to the original track) that we see Charli’s true nature, though it seems somewhat suppressed. When I saw her at SXSW years ago—before the release of her debut LP—I almost creamed myself hearing her single “You (Ha Ha Ha),” an amazing track that brought her onto the indie scene with fiery valor (especially since she sampled the incomparable Gold Panda as the basis of the orchestration). Since then, I must admit: she has become one hell of a performer, and she has indeed found her audience (ain’t no shame in that!). But those of us in the indie sphere miss her colorful creativity that has been darkened by the pressure of the mainstream. Charli’s all-female backing band was incredible, yet there was some facet of discomfort that seemed to flicker involuntarily throughout the show. I’m proud of Charli—and wish her all the best; and think Sucker is a great LP—but I wouldn’t be true to myself or this review if I didn’t say out-loud that I miss the old Charli: the Charli that didn’t give a fuck about what coat she was wearing or what lights were flashing; the one that giggled when she said the wrong words at the Taco Bell/Hype Hotel/IHeartRadio/whatever the hell party it was I saw her at SXSW.
Either way I admit I was basically on my toes throughout the entirety of each player’s performances. Like I said: pop is not exactly my wheelhouse….but I am in no way a harsh critic of its importance. Pop music is terribly important: it gets the people listening, it allows for forums of discussion, and more often than not, it allows listeners of one genre to cross into another. The connections may not always be perfect, but they are hella catchy (that may be the fourth “hella” I have ever uttered), and they do bring people together in one way or another.
I don’t believe in negative criticism. I’m not someone that writes harsh porse for laughs or puts down someone else’s artistic vision in an attempt to gain readership. I find that practice contemptible. My goal is to express an opinion, a reaction if you will, and convey said reaction to those who may or may not have similar tastes. I talk about what works for me as well as what doesn’t. It’s my job to be subjective, but at the same time I always try to keep others in mind. That being said, I don’t hate pop music. Far from it. It is important that you understand that. If anything else, I have been brought closer to it, whether because of the enthusiasm of the audience I witnessed tonight–so beautifully devoted to it—or rather due to the infectious passion, the admirable pride its composers exhibit in its creation. After watching these two acts perform, I can safely say that the definition of “rockstar” certainly has changed in the past twenty years or so. No longer is it about reputation or promiscuity, it’s about response. It’s about making somebody feel something–even a skeptic like me–perhaps for the better. I feel as rusty as an old kettle hearing these two acts perform together. But will I put them down because I don’t fully understand? Hell no. Am I getting old and senile? Or can I molt these false feathers and adapt a new attitude? I sure hope so. I’d hate to be senile and/or “out of touch” at barely thirty-years-old.
This reviewer finds himself at a crosswords writing about this show. The adult in me says they need more structure yet have found a perfectly acceptable and marketable niche. The kid in me is urging me to try to understand a branch of music I have obviously distanced myself from in the past several years. As a reader, I leave it up to you. Honestly there’s so much to love about both of these acts and their respective wild and colorful nature that I can’t see any reason to deter anyone from seeing this tour. There really is something for everybody, even if it might not seem so at first. A changed man writes these final sentences, yet for better or for worse is for us as a community to decide. Bring on the pop; the young ones have won, and maybe it’s not so terrible after all.
For more on Bleachers go HERE and HERE.
For more on Charli XCX go HERE and HERE.
Photos by Corey Bell
Corey Bell
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