On July 27th, Summer Stage hosted a free concert featuring LP, Quadron and Lianne La Havas at Grand Central Park. And it was amazing.
The concert was to start at 7pm but the line was in full swing by 5pm . I was lucky enough to snag a front row spot; the venue was packed with over 200 people wating to see Lianne. DJ Center was onstage riling up the crowd until the first act came out. You could feel the excitement in the air and cool breeze as the sun started going down. The mood was definitely set.
Quadron is a Danish band based in LA that performs electronic soul music. Lead singer Coco O came out on stage in her blue dress and black SR heels full of energy and danced all through her set. Her voice was soft but she woud hit these high notes every once in a while everyone cheered. The bass was snazzy and present and the drums followed along. They performed about 6 or 7 very good songs, a great start to the concert, before saying goodnight and finishing for the night.
DJ Center came on again to play a mixture of R&B, Blues and jazz as the crew cleared the stage and set up for the next band: LP. If you're like me and you've never heard of them, you'll want to check this band out. I was completely taken away by the sheer voice on their lead singer Laura Pergolizzi (LP for short, hence the band name). They released an album just last year but you might have heard her song "Into the Wild" in a Citi Bank commercial. They owned the stage for the duration of their set, the drums were intense and the guitar delivered catchy riffs along side LP's ukelele and powerful voice. This band had everything from catchy songs, to stage presence, with a unique sound that sounded like a combination of Indie, Rock and Alternative. They were a big highlight of the night.
It was a cool, calm night by the time Quadron and LP finished up their great sets and everyone was dancing along to DJ Center's mix until he faded out. A brief silence and a fade of the lights alerts the crowd to Lianne La Havas coming on stage. She wore a killer dress with equally killer black heels, her hair up in her signature style and she smiled at everyone before starting her long awaited set.
What happens next is the stuff concert dreams are made of. There's something about listening to music live that makes it feel just that much more amazing. Lianne did not disappoint. The energy on stage was felt through the air, her rich and smooth voice accompanied by her jazzy guitar playing carried out the entire night while she performed almost her entire album.
She is so talented on the guitar; she played it for every song except for "Gone" which was only accompanied by the piano and was performed with the same kind of haunting voice and emotion she portrays in the song's video. Lianne didn't do anything but wear a giant smile, dance and deliver an amazing show. You get a huge sense of her relaxed, fun personality by how confidently she rocked the stage. She spoke a little about how much she loved New York and how it was an important place for her, despite her being an England native. She bought one of her electric guitars here in New York, she threw in before playing a different version of herAu Cinema. Another great surprise was her beautiful cover of Radiohead's Weird Fish .
The Summer Stage crowd was a good one, everyone quietly sang along and there weren't any rude commotions or anything. They all sang along in Forget when Lianne asked them to repeat the chorus and they clapped along in Elusive when the band memebers indicated them to follow.
Nearing the end, she announced "This is my last song" and when the crowd all yelled their boos! And no! Lianne laughed and said "But I have a good excuse. It's because I've only made one album." It really showed her humble personality and how much she enjoyed making music. She closed big with Is Your Love Big Enough?, everyone was definitely at the top of their game that night.
Overall, the concert was an amazing experience. Every single moment was enjoyable, from the crowd to the venue to the opening acts. Both Quadron and LP are quality bands I'd go see in concerts. Lianne La Havas did a fantastic job and I wouldn't hesitate to go see any of them again.