L.A. doesn’t deserve CSS. Maybe the concertgoers were having a case of the Mondays, but it took them until the encore to show gratitude to the Brazilian tastemakers. Granted, the set was abbreviated, topping out at under an hour, but it was so sparkly and frenetic, the lack of enthusiasm in the venue was downright insulting.
So maybe head mistress Lovefoxxx was looking like a Bjork clone in her fluorescent unitard and a jacket possibly culled from some relative of Big Bird. But what is dance punk music if not silly and scintillating? The gang from Sao Paolo scorched early in their show with “Meeting Paris Hilton,” while multi-instrumentalist Carolina Parra popped balloons in time with the beat. The juicier jams featured a spastic backup dancer who had enough costume changes to make Cher jealous.
The group raced through their current radio hit, “Rat Is Dead (Rage),” provoking only small pockets of applause from their fair-weather fans. Their Carnival flamboyance seemed lost on the Angelenos, who were perhaps still shell-shocked from opening act Ssion, a peculiar queercore conglomerate; or maybe Tilly and the Wall’s twee tap-dance revue just lulled them to sleep. No matter how forcefully she thrust her pompadour in a ferocious head-bang, or polled the front row about their favorite alcoholic drinks, Lovefoxxx was on a losing mission to win over the stoics.
Everyone’s arms finally unfolded during the encore, upon hearing the irresistible combo of “Alala ” and “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death from Above.” Confetti cannons exploded and the crowd rejoiced, as if a spell had been broken and they had been freed of inhibitions. It’s a shame the show of appreciation came almost as an afterthought.
– Melissa Bobbitt
Cansei de Ser Sexy: www.csshurts.com/index.php
Tilly and the Wall: tillyandthewall.com
Ssion: www.ssion.com