Christine and The Queens Want You To Be A Bicycle. If You Want.

Christine and The Queens w/ Lemolo
The Showbox, Seattle, WA
10.19.16

Not a single thing was lost in translation when Christine and The Queens played to a sold out crowd at The Showbox in Seattle. The adoring fans filled the room early, and as the beat dropped on opening track “Starshipper,” and Christine – née Héloïse Letissier – exploded across the stage, everyone in the room exploded right along with her.

France’s current arbitor of freak-pop cool, Letissier managed to bring everyone in the room together for her masterfully crafted show. The feeling was both eccstatic and emotionally-charged, just as her music is a perfect and precarious balance of contrasting elements. There she was, in the middle of four male dancers, a lithe figure cutting through the heavy fog. Each dance sequence, whether solo or group, felt both choreographed and improvised.

This was an actual show, each move, each lighting sequence, perfectly accentuating each beat. Everyone on stage performing with their whole selves. “For the time we have together here, this is a free zone,” Letissier said, “You are free to experiment. Change your name. If you want to become a bicycle you can. We are not going to judge you there is only love. I’m going to become what I always dreamed of: a little boy, dreaming of becoming a man one day.” And with that launched into “iT” to massive support from the crowd.

It is this honesty, this acceptance, this pushing of boundaries, that seems to have fans falling at Letissier’s feet. In a world of cookie-cutter pop acts, CATQ is a breath of fresh air, a sweet extravagance of celebrating quirk. Even while half the time she sang in French, there was an overwhelming feeling in the room that everyone understood. From intricate electronic beats to soaring, careful vocals, and Michael Jackson-influenced dance moves, there wasn’t a single incomplete thought in the show.

The band worked through tracks from Chaleur Humaine (issued in the US as a self-titled rework), including crowd favorite “Tilted,” and “Paradis Perdus,” a mashup cover of Christophe’s 1973 song “Les paradis perdus” and Kanye West’s “Heartless” which was especially humorous given that West was performing less than a mile away at the same time. The track’s emotional gravity and solo performance on stage lent an extra air of sentimentality to the set.

Letissier’s banter between songs was endearing, as she discussed not fitting in and learning not to care, and handed out flowers to the crowd. As an encore, CATQ gave us French ballad “Nuit 17 à 52.” Partway through, Letissier says, “We are going to try something. You are going to sing in French. Relax, it’s easier than you think, just follow my lead.” The crowd takes on the challenge, to which Letissier declares “You are now all French citizens,” and then fake proposes to the entire room. It is this balance of pop sheen and humble reality that will continue to carry Christine and The Queens forward.

Local dream-pop duo Lemolo – guitarist/keys/vocalist Meagan Grandall and drummer Adrian Centoni – opened the show with a solid half-hour set. Their natural sonic balance of hard and soft has been earning them heavy accolades. Grandall’s live performance is a sharp contrast of dreamy vocals and stuttering rock. Instrumental breaks between the lines catch her letting loose, seemingly unconsciously, while Centoni holds down the beat. Catch them for a dreamy live performance at CATHEDRALS XV, with special orchestral accompaniment at St. Mark’s Cathedral December 2.

Christine and The Queens Set LIst
Starshipper
Half Ladies
iT
Science Fiction
Paradis Perdus
Here
No Harm is Done
Tilted
Safe and Holy
Narcissus is Back
Ugly-Pretty
Good Life
Intranquillité
Saint Claude
The Loving Cup
Encore
Nuit 17 à 52