I doubt any soul left the Biltmore last night unamazed by Yukimi Nagano and Little Dragon. I dont think Ive enjoyed a show this much in ages either. Thats probably because Ive havent gone to many gigs that much over the last year and a bit. Caught Chromeo, Damian Marley and Keys n Krates during the Olympics, Maxwell at the Centre last summer. Thats about it for last year and a bit. Going to gigs may be kinda like partying maybe: you might go nuts on it during your 20's and then maybe go thru a stretch of losing interest or the enthusiasm in your late 20's. Then maybe, in your young 30's, you'll be pulled back here and there depending on what gets you then? You probably appreciate the shows in a different way at this stage perhaps since you really know what you like and you've specifically come out of the woodwork because you really wanna see the band you came to see. The Little Dragon show was one of those shows for me last night.....(continued)
It was just an awesome show. What can I say? The quartet have a simple sound on record: spacy, atmospheric soul & groove, just the right backdrop for singer Yukimi Nagano's uniquely amazing voice. Its kinda hard these days to tell what a band or act's live show will be like though when it comes to music with a lot of electronic production or sound. But Little Dragon is a band on record and a band on stage and it really showed last night. With a drummer, keyboardist, bassist and Yukimi on the mic, they kick it up a notch live on top of offering breaks of extended instrumentals with Nagano playing different percussions and even joining the drummer on a drum break.
Yukimi Nagano is a true little force of nature too. Im not really sure how to describe her in short words. First off, there's the unique voice. She's apparently half-Japanese, half Swedish and Swedish raised (where the band comes from as well). She's super tiny, so small that you can barely see her from the stage if your standing in the middle of the crowd. Though her voice is of the celestial, dreamy type, its also got a unique delivery (her wiki site says "she grew up listening to American folk because of her mother, but always had an affinity for R&B.") which seems to be reflected in her energy and movement on stage. She's a true front-person for a band, the little force of fury, she is. I dunno, is she kinda like Feist crossed with Bjork? I dunno. The show was dope though, best one for me in ages.
Tuesday- the XX! The 12's on May 6. EPMD May 25. Massive Attack May 29. LCD Soundsystem May 31. Looks like Im back in the swing....
el Nina - who was playing something I just discovered on a link on her site the day before, Onra, wicked find, thanks Nins
Yukimi & the Dragons
