With The Lights Turned Off

The xx @ United Palace Theater 10/2/2010

Intro / Crystalised / Heart Skipped A Beat / Basic Space / Fantasy / Shelter / Show Me Love / Teardrops / VCR / Islands / Night Time / Infinity // Stars

The xx “Shelter”

A few times in this show, Oliver Sim mentioned that it was hard to believe that his band was playing the United Palace — an enormous, ornate church/theater that is only a bit smaller than Radio City Music Hall — only a year after starting out at the tiny, no-frills Mercury Lounge. Relentless touring, licensing, and especially enthusiastic word of mouth has served them very well — I definitely got the feeling that a large portion of Saturday’s audience, like myself, hadn’t gotten around to seeing them in concert yet, despite the fact that they’ve played at least ten shows of increasing size in New York City alone since last fall. (They just headlined a free show at Central Park’s Rumsey Playfield only two months ago.) I am certainly glad that I held out for this large indoor gig, which allowed them to go full-on with their excellent, thoughtfully crafted light show. The lighting design was crucial in building up the sense of drama they were creating on stage and keeping the band largely hidden in shadows, adding to their mystique.

It makes a lot of sense to me that the xx would catch as they have. Without any perceptible trace of cynicism, they were able to fill a niche in the marketplace that’s been inexplicably underserved in recent years — dark, emotional, genuinely sexy pop music. I mean, given the sheer number of bands out there, how did it take so long for anyone to competently find the middle ground between mid-90s trip hop/R&B and Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game”? It seems like such a no-brainer, but when it comes down to it, without the raw talent, charisma, and vocal chemistry, the xx could easily miss their mark entirely. I used to think that Sim’s voice was inferior to that of Romy Madley Croft, but I’ve come around to liking him quite a lot — there’s a great amount of character in his voice, and his low-key intensity complements Croft’s earnest fragility rather well. This music would fail without total commitment, and that’s what they give. Judging by the audience response, it’s also when they get in return.

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