Låpsley, Aquilo and NAVVI
Neptune Theatre, Seattle, WA
11.13.16
It was a dreadfully drizzly, cold Sunday night in Seattle. The kind of night you just want to stay in. However, Little Big Show was a wonderful way to end the dreary weekend. This sixteenth installment of the concert series – presented by KEXP, Starbucks, and STG – that donates 100% of ticket sales to local non-profits, featured beautifully laid-back and emotional performances from Låpsley, NAVVI and Aquilo.
Seattle natives NAVVI opened up the night with their ethereal, atmospheric electro-pop. After their set flew by, Aquilo took the stage for an equally haunting performance of more sad, slow pop songs. Their set was really great, and filled with intense emotion as the duo closed their eyes and played through their songs.
Aquilo’s performance featured many tracks, such as “Human” and “Silhouette,” that were hard hitting soul pop songs, mostly about previous relationships. Mixed in with their more sorrowful tracks were a few that were more upbeat, such as “Better off Without You” and “You Won’t Know Where You Stand.” Aquilo had a wonderful set; their passion and dedication were clear, and it paid off.
Headlining the night was English singer-songwriter Låpsley. Her sound, similar to that of her openers, was pretty mellow and calm, only occasionally spiking up for songs that were a bit more upbeat. She opened her set with “Cliff,” one of the especially relaxed tracks, before she picked it up a bit with “Falling Short,” prior to greeting the crowd.
Solo projects like hers – with younger artists singing their meaningful songs – can tend to have a lackluster stage presence, whether it’s due to shyness, stage fright, or a simply inexperience. While Låpsley did harbor a marked humbleness, she was not bashful or withdrawn. Rather, she commanded all the attention in the room, as she slowly sang and swayed around with the crowd. Her personality became vivid between songs as she introduced her band, jokingly twerked for her photographer, and talked about how weird it was to not be able to drink at a US show.
After a few more contemporary sounding tracks, she decided to dedicate her next song to Tanisha Morgan. She didn’t explain much to the crowd other than she wanted to dedicate the song to her friend who was meant to be in the audience, but unfortunately passed away before she got the chance. Låpsley then began to sing a tear-jerking cover of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work.” She closed with a beautiful performance of “Station,” before a quick break that led to the encore. She ran back on stage with her almost retro-sounding track, “Operator,” which got everyone moving a little bit as she danced along. For her final song, Låpsley went with her most popular tack, “Hurt Me.”
From chilling electro-pop laid-back and fun, this Little Big Show ended up being the perfect finish to a chilly fall weekend.
Review by Lulu Dawson
Photos by Zach Etahiri
Aquilo
