New York – Swinging 60s, beach parties, spaghetti westerns, The Village People, and Pretty in Pink are just a few cultural signifiers that French electro-pop band La Femme seem to emblematize in their live show. When the first band member came out dressed like a Hollywood cowboy, I was immediately reminded of that recent photo series of American-themed parties that apparently are thrown in other countries, which are a total mockery but also really interesting to be shown what aspects of American culture have reached other parts of the world and become their association with “America.” In the case of La Femme, it was just one aspect of a crazy entertaining live set.
The six-piece released their debut album Psycho Tropical Berlin on Born Bad Records last Spring, a record full of dance tunes that combine electro-pop, surf rock, psych and ye-ye influences that is catchy all over the place. Live, each member has their own independent style but they’re all on the same energy level and psyched to be playing their own songs. They moved all around the stage that they had lined with synths and a theremin, switching instruments and dancing. There was so much happening on stage with all the people and instruments that it all barely fit, and all the movement resulted in a few instances of keyboards and bodies toppling. Their instruments sure took a beating, especially that one moment of the night when the guitarist crowdsurfed by surfing on a keyboard. Then there was a quick rendition of “Macho Man.” That’s the kind of show La Femme puts on.
It’s not a memorable party if there’s not lots of dancing and nobody gets naked and humps a synth, so La Femme made sure to have us covered on all accounts. They started off with the air of classic French cool, with songs like “Hypsoline” that recalled the spoken vocals and chillness of Serge Gainsbourg, and gradually going full electro disco. Vocalists/keyboardists Marlon Magnée and Clémence Quelennec had a little “Bonnie and Clyde” repartee going with their call and response vocal melodies, as well as some swinging dance moves. As the show progressed, Magnée went from doing a jog with Quelennec to riding his synth like a pony to stripping to no pants no shirt and going buck nutty. At the end of their set, when the crowd was going wild and Magnée grabbed the mic and just yelled “AMERICAAAA!!!” it was like we had just been thrown our own themed party.
La Femme has three more dates in NYC, along with many more through summer.
