The night after St. Patrick's Day seemed like the perfect opportunity to get out for a night of dancing. With significant amounts of Jameson's still coursing through my bloodstream, I headed to Crowbar to catch the Swedish electronica of Little Dragon. [All photos by D. Rich Photography.]
The opening act, Joint Custody, started the evening with totally danceable techno full of bass and ambient noise; unfortunately, at that point, the bar was nearly empty and no one was dancing. Maybe the recession is making people cut back on controlled substances, or perhaps it was just too early; mostly, I think Joint Custody would just be better suited to playing at Hyde Park Cafe or The Kennedy. Since straight up techno is usually not my thing, I went outside to wait it out in the courtyard.
By the time Little Dragon came on, Crowbar had filled up nicely. The crowd began cheering when the clicking first notes of "A New" began, and went positively insane when singer Yukimi Nagano [pictured above] hit the stage.
From the first instant, you see that Little Dragon is carried on the shoulders of this tiny girl with a huge presence and even larger voice. Throughout the entire evening, Nagano danced more than the crowd did, building upon our energy with her weaving and hopping. Little Dragon is an oddly appropriate description, and in fact the band received their name from the tantrums she would throw in the studio while they were recording.
