[LIVE] Kitten & Charli XCX @ The Troubadour, August 17, 2012

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Both Kitten and Charli XCX on the same lineup!? Each has one song I adore and neither played that song. Interestingly, that recipe for concert disaster turned out half OK. Kitten’s roaring set delivered so much else that I couldn’t help but be stoked about every second of it. Singer Chloe is 16 and performs like she has spent every one of those years preparing for it. A frantic barefoot motorized dervish, the stage is her playground and the music her fuel source. Every song is consumed by her body, only to be reborn bigger and more fierce through her throat. The recorded version of “Sugar” (above) comes nowhere close to its live power. It’s inexcusable that they didn’t play “Cut It Out” but I still stay you should make your way to LA for their September residency at The Bootleg.

Charli XCX is thrashing and pumping so wildly on stage that it almost justifies her three bras. The bright yellow Nike one on top doing its best to keep her business in check as she works the stage. Nobody can doubt her energy. Its just all the rest I’m struggling with. There has been a lot of hype around this girl lately and as much as I want to join the party I feel like the songs are rough at best, her singing unremarkable, and all that thrashing? Kind of off-putting. Plus she didn’t play “I’ll Never Know.” I’m hedging my bets on this one.

Tagged as: Charli XCX, Kitten, Los Angeles