Tour Review & Photos by Charlie Martel
Quebec City, Canada – It was during a snowstorm that the venue ‘Le Cercle’ saw one of its biggest acts since its opening. The French Canadians of Quebec City responded amazingly to their first LIGHTS show ever during her stop in the province on the Atlantic tour. When the doors opened the fans went crazy, some rushed for the stage and some stopped at the bar first. The goal was to have fun, dance and drink since the show was 18+.
It only took a few minutes before the room was packed. From the balcony where people sat and let their feet dangle over the edge to the side stage. The crowd didn’t have to wait much longer for the show to begin as Nightbox (the opening act) came on stage only a few minutes after the room got settled. The Irish band all met in high school and now calls Toronto their home. They really have chemistry and a foot-stomping sound. Very few people in the audience had known of this band, but right from the first of their eight songs, ‘Utopia’, they won the crowd. Their music is easy to enjoy with a nice blend of sounds from the guitar, bass, drum trio and the synth player. Mid set, frontman Jake Bitove stopped to steal some hearts by chatting and saying a few French words here and there. The band continued with more songs, still delivering a solid yet smooth and polished sound. Nightbox finished their set with ‘Relocate you’, a song with a great 80’s tone. They left the stage with the crowd screaming and gained some new fans.
And then came time for the main event. For most of the people in the room, it was their first time seeing Lights. The Canadian singer from Toronto’s entrance to the stage was mind-blowing, starting off with ‘Banner’ and shaking the crowd up with her powerful vocals. As usual, a band of three accompanied her. She switched between piano and synth throughout the show, and at one point she even played he guitar, proving that she is a versatile, talented musician and a dedicated artist. She glanced at the front row from times to time, but mostly gazed at the audience smiling, enjoying the brand new bunch she got to play for, and took a short time to ask why she hadn’t come to the city before. Due to a technical problem forcing her to stop the set, she decided to sit at the piano and grant the audience with the reprise version of ‘Pretend’ from her first studio album ‘The Listening’. During the entire performance the devotees sang along and waved their arms as they screamed. There wasn’t much talking to be heard from Lights, who probably didn’t expect the house to understand much English, but she still took the time to charm us with phrases like ‘Mon petit loup’. The selection of songs was spot on. A perfect combination of her current record ‘Siberia’ and her previous one. She closed the night with her single ‘Toes’ and left the stage to fans chanting for her to come back for an encore Fans reached a new decibel when she came back after a few minutes, taking to the microphone and telling us about a touching letter from fans asking for a special song. The original encore would have been ‘Cactus in the Valley’ but was changed to ‘Face Up’ for the little group who managed to get their note through.
The evening was a hit, from the strong opening act to the smashing performance from Lights. With her vocal and musical skills mixed with her quirky personality and charisma, she charmed a new city. Even the language barrier couldn’t stop Lights from sharing her message through her songs. A pleased crowd left the small bar that night already hoping for the next time LIGHTS returns to Quebec City.
Check out more photos from the show here!
