|
Leon Setlist
Tour Dates
02/17/17 San Francisco, CA Rickshaw Stop
02/18/17 West Hollywood, CA Roxy Theatre 02/19/17 Santa Ana, CA Constellation Room 02/20/17 San Diego, CA The Casbah 02/23/17 Dallas, TX Three Links 02/24/17 Austin, TX Antone's 02/26/17 New Orleans, LA Gasa Gasa 02/27/17 Atlanta, GA Vinyl 02/28/17 Nashville, TN Mercy Lounge Read More
|
The world it seems, is anything but tired of talking about her- in fact, she’s just getting started—
Swedish singer-songwriter LÉON returned to the area, playing her first proper concert in Minneapolis at a very sold-out 7th Street Entry.
Opening the evening was a twenty-four year-old Birmingham UK (by way of Nigeria) singer/songwriter named Jacob Banks, whose music blends grooves and rhythms from his native Africa with the soul and R&B of 1960’s Stax Records artists. The UK has already taken notice with Banks being the first unsigned artist to perform on BBC Radio 1’s Live Lounge, Interscope Records then signing him last September, and an EP and SXSW appearances, due next month.
New songs like ‘Mercy’ and ‘Grace’ (about one’s true feelings during a breakup) shone with character greater than his young age; his vocals are more raw and unrefined than Seal or Michael Kiwanuka, but which works for the kind of music he is exploring.
To combat the cold weather outside, he covered the very springtime-like ‘Put Your Records On’ slowed down and with a reggae guitar riff. After a crooning ‘Silver Lining’ slowed things down, ‘Unholy War’ found Banks singing “let redemption keep you warm” amidst a twisting guitar riff and distinct rhythm.
Something very dramatic has happened with LÉON since we last saw her just six months ago—in August, she was largely unknown, stopping by a suburban dockside to play a short promotional outdoor mini-concert to a scattering of happy hour drinkers.
With a subsequent MTV Setlist concert broadcast from the Iridium in NYC and appearance on MTV’s Wonderland since under her belt, a long line formed down the block of this at-capacity show (12 of her first 13 dates were sold out), with additional people begging the line-goers for any extra tickets.
With still only the four-song Treasure EP (Columbia Records/Sony) released, fans remain patient waiting on the full-length, but were treated to a headlining set just short of fifty-minutes, which should give good indication on how the album will sound. Music is in the blood for the woman born Lotta Lindgren (the daughter of a composer and a cello player) and backed by three musicians, her stage presence seems natural and relaxed.
“I did not expect THIS tonight!” she said, overlooking the full and smiling crowd before launching into the electronic intro of ‘Sleep Deprived’. “Do you like Arctic Monkeys?” she asked, before moving into a cover of their hit, ‘Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High’, admitting after, that her friends say she dances to the song like a “drunk pirate”.
“I love Stevie Nicks, I think she’s one of the best singers of all time”, she said, before a pitch-perfect piano-driven version of the Fleetwood Mac song, ‘Dreams’, suited ideally for her slightly raspy voice. After playing the EP’s title track, the main set with ‘For You’; un-recorded when we first heard it in August, but with added punch and polishing live, have to assume it will make the album cut.
“Have you ever felt treated not nice?” she asked, before her final and signature song, ‘Tired of Talking’ which exploded over the summer in terms of online spins.
“And I'm tired of talking, talking, I've been nothing but good to you” LÉON sang in the song, and based on the reactions of the capacity crowd, it was fully agreed that she had been nothing but good.
|
Jacob Banks |
White Lies |
Setlist |
LÉON |
LÉON |
|
LÉON at 7th St Entry, Minneapolis (10 Feb 2017) |
