By: Molly Free
The Charli XCX & Kitten show has been on my radar since the summer, and thankfully I was able to catch the rescheduled show at Vinyl. Walking into the venue the lead singer of Kitten, Chloe Chaidez was standing on the side bannister of the venue singing her heart out. I was happy I had not missed the Los Angeles based group’s opening set. Kitten was the perfect match for the Charli XCX tour, with their powerful girl punk inspired sound. Their young age and short time performing together could have fooled me; the band owned the stage like seasoned performers. The highlight for me was their debut single that has owned the indie charts all year, “Cut It Out”.
I had seen photos and video of Charli XCX performing through out the year and was happy to finally see her live. Continuing with the “girl-power punk” theme of the show, Charli (Charlotte Aitchison) hailing from England took the stage in fishnets, a short leather mini, oversized sunglasses, and punk-inspired platform moto boots. Following the lead of her opener, Charli commanded the stage and attention of the audience with power. It was a pleasant surprise to hear her songs have a heavier sound with a live band (complete with girls in naughty school girl uniforms), as her album has a more synth-y & indietronica sound to it. Her set seemed to fly by as she played the majority of her debut album, including my favorites “You (Ha Ha Ha)” famous for the Gold Panda sample, “Stay Away” and “You’re the One”. Charli threw in Icona Pop’s “I love it” into her set list, as she co-wrote the summer smash hit. Charli had incredible energy through her entire set, utilizing the entire stage while head banging, bouncing, and dancing with the crowd. I found myself carrying her same energy with me, blasting her album the entire drive home.
Charli XCX’s album True Romance is available now.
