Lights

A lot has gone on in Lights’ world since the three years between her last album Siberia and now: Family, career, re-​discovering herself and adjusting into her new role. All of these themes are explored in her new album Little Machines.
For myself I’ve been fortunate to watch Lights’ career grow in stages after 11 shows. It still seems like yesterday when the video Drive My Soul was played on Much.
It was very noticeable that Lights as a pop star is more polished. She finally seems more comfortable in her role, the potential commercial pop star in the making. At first I was fearful of her attempt at making pop star moves, however, it’s a craft that she’s clearly earned and refined through trial and error.
The majority of the set list consisted heavily on the material from the last two albums and very little of her early work. She did do a few songs, however, those seemed semi cake walked. She performed the new material as though she was re-​inspired by her own revelations.
I can understand why she may not have the same sentiment singing the older songs. She’s in a different place now, all grown up. Surprisingly I didn’t miss a lot of the older songs as much as I initially thought that I would. I’ve heard them so many times before that my ears were more interested in fresh material. She did throw in Savoir which has some sentimental attachment.
The live presentation of the Little Machines material breathed positive energy not found on the recordings. I was a fan of the album before, however, came out with a better appreciation for certain songs that I was initially on the fence about such as «Portal.»
I was partially entertained by the dancing and the singing along of her father who was within arms reach. Lights is very lucky to have a family who still comes out to her shows. I had to negotiate with my mom to come to my last guitar recital yet her family has seen most of her shows with enjoyment like the fans. On the first night her father shouted from the back, «Welcome home Valarie.»
Her voice was in decent shape, however, there was a lot of help with the over use of the echo effect, especially on the chorus’. She’s one of the few artists who can actually get away with this given the genre. In fact I think that it did a favor to some of the new material.
The show was 70-​ish minutes. It was just enough for fans to get their fill and for Lights to conserve her energy for a double header without feeling burnt out. I did expect more out of the encore but left satisfied. It was nice to get home both nights before 10:00 pm.
The souvenirs for this tour were a more mature in styling. There was also a decent mens shirt that was presentable. I wish that she had done something a little more imaginative with the trinkets.
After the show I participated in the Lights meet and greet. There were no photos allowed which was a good thing. Instead of spending 5 minutes fumbling with one’s iphone, she wanted to actually talk and engage with fans (semi full conversations). To me these memories are more valuable than the mission to capture 30 seconds. I gave Lights my secret ingredient to the most amazing guacamole recipe, the same recipe that many of my friends have been begging for. Lights now has it. She’s promised not to tell.