Concert Review: St. Lucia Gave Yacht Life At Pier 17
At The Rooftop at Pier 17, St. Lucia’s concert felt equivalent to hopping on a yacht to South Africa. They combine afro-pop and disco to give a sound that was made for concerts, and make you feel like a proletariat turned bourgeois. Thus, it was no surprise to see the crowd light up as if they were watching their friends enter the dance-floor to join them rather than seeing an artist play for them; we all wish we could be VIP, and St.Lucia offer the exuberance of such a lifestyle in their sound.
Led by Jean-Philip Grobler, he bounced and ran across the stage as if life is a game of Mario-Kart, and St. Lucia are snatching and crashing into synths to magnify their size. Grobler’s voice is so steady across soundscapes that could compete with spaceships on hyper-drive. Hence, St.Lucia’s music turns them into gods that the audience could call out with a “first-name” intimacy. Frankly, it is hard not to feel attached to music that swishes with lyrics and beats where you feel you can decide who gets the Top-Notch Cristal and who gets the well drinks.
St. Lucia – Walking Away (Official Video)
St.Lucia are like Duran Duran 2018; turning electro waves and neon splashes into signs of wealth and esteem. Of course, classic hits like, “Close To You” and “Dancing on Glass” were taken for the pop anthems they have become, and amplified thanks to a lighting design that highlighted the tropical breeze of their sound and their flirtatious nature of their verse. Yet, I was more intrigued by how their hits came off in contrast to their newest work, Hyperion. If St.Lucia’s previous work were a yacht party in St. Tropez, Hyperion felt like an extravagant dinner. The difference is that in one you are the talk of the fiesta, and in another you are holding conversations with privileged guests on life’s philosophies.
St. Lucia – Paradise is Waiting (Official Audio)
While people still danced, Hyperion felt like a slight turn down to tune in, and you noticed it in the change of ambiance/pacing and the literal images that displayed behind St.Lucia; they went from patterned, strobe lights to commercials spliced between pictures of heroes like MLK. Songs such as, “Paradise Is Waiting,” “Gun,” and “Next To You” were sonic affronts on how society is working, and lyrically called out people’s obsession with looking good rather than being it. Though, you CANNOT take away the zest and rhythm of St.Lucia’s sound, it was enriching and poignant to dance to pop anthems asking for people to be spiritual over superficial. For More Information On St.Lucia Click Here.
