I Like Dahncing At The Disco

Goldfrapp @ Nokia Theatre 12/5/2005
Train / Tip Toe / Koko / Slide In / Number 1 / U Never Know / Lovely Head / Fly Me Away / Satin Chic / Beautiful / Ride A White Horse / Ooh La La // Strict Machine / Black Cherry

Goldfrapp “Ride A White Horse” – It’s so rare that I get to see a proper keyboard driven pop band perform live, much less one that completely delivers the goods from start to finish. Goldfrapp play like strict machines, nailing every part of their songs with scary precision and visceral urgency. The band were accompanied on five songs in the set by a pair of dancers who performed choreographed moves in different fetish suits for each tune. (Wolf masks and bikinis for “Train,” silver latex robot suits for “Slide In,” disco-ball horse heads and tutus with horsey tails for “Ride A White Horse,” etc.) It’s a brilliantly designed spectacle for sure, but the songs are still the most impressive thing about the show. Some of the selections came alive in the performance -“Fly Me Away” and “U Never Know” were more effervescent compared to their flatter studio counterparts, and “Lovely Head” was dynamic rather than just haunting and ethereal – whereas “Ride A White Horse,” “Train,” “Koko,” and especially “Ooh La La” built on their foundation of inherant excellence with an extra jolt of energy and sexuality. Goldfrapp will be touring North America in the early spring of next year, so if you have any love for the band, I strongly encourage you to see them if they come to your area. (Click here to buy it from Amazon UK (American version will be in stores on March 7, 2006.)