By Jodi Root

With the WAVVES set on Friday, I decided to check Ladytron’s second night in Chicago on Saturday at the Metro. I thought I’d be safe arriving to the venue at 7:00 pm, but apparently I was mistaken—all ages show start on the minute as scheduled—so thanks to my niece’s delayed Hannah Montana movie screening, I was jipped out of Telepathe’s opening set which I had been stoked for. (Did anyone else make this? It couldn’t have lasted longer than 30 minutes, right?) I walked into Ladytron’s set fifteen minutes into their 75 minute set, so at least I didn’t miss out on this as well. . .

The venue was packed full of smiley, dancey teenagers, some probably at their first concert. The energy was enthusiastic and took me back to my own high school days at shows—before I had to start shelling out $6 for a party cup of Miller Lite. Expensive drinks and my tardiness aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of Ladytron’s set. I had caught these guys last time they were in town this past summer at the Vic, shortly after the release of Velocifero, so I had an idea of what was in store.

The sign on the venue’s door indicating “Intense Strobe Light Presentation” was on the mark; cool blue hues and warm red shadows illuminated the stage; as intermediate bright white flashes of strobe action dominated the stage. Pretty much like what you’d envision what Ladytron’s music should look like—a flashy, electronic dance haven.

The set list was a balanced mix of new and old material—with highlights including Light and Magic’s “Seventeen,” “Tomorrow,” “International Dateline” and Velocifero’s “I’m Not Scared,” “Seasons of Illusion,” and “Ghosts.” The show closed with “Destroy Everything You Touch,” which got the kids to their feet as they swayed under the whirring bubble machine. How precious.

The sound quality rocked and so did Ladytron—the kids ate that shit up and much dancing was had by all. I’m bummed I missed Telepathe this go around but I’ll just be patient until they hit up the Empty Bottle on their headlining tour this summer. Did anyone catch the Friday night set of this show? What were your highlights? Thoughts on headliners The Faint?

Myspace: Ladytron

Last night I took a trip to the dark side—I visited the glittery shadows of loud, pumping synth and bass, bright flashing lights, and an unimaginably Sirenesque blend of sensual female vocals. Hundreds of bodies swayed as one, packed densely in a tight, sweaty mass of movement to the mysteriously seductive thumping beats.

I amongst many others was one of these entranced voyeurs in attendance of Ladytron’s Chicago stop of their U.S. tour at the Vic last evening. While both 04’s Light and Magic and 05’s Witching Hour have graced my cd wallet history, I didn’t realize Ladytron was back on the scene with their recent release of Velocifero until about a month or so back when a girlfriend mentioned this show. I did a little homework and discovered the anticipated release of Ladytron’s first follow up in three years was actually quite good. I dug Witching Hour back in my days of college radio to give the record its fair amount of airplay back in 05, but I’d be lying if I said it got a lot of attention in my regular music rotation since then. But Velocifero definitely brought this troupe’s slinky, and so very smooth sounds of electronic goodness back to the forefront of my dance party mania.

But while the record’s good, it does no justice to the actual performance itself. Velocifero is the sexual fantasy to the live eroticism of the real deal. The crowd was packed to the nines and for a moment I thought I was at the wrong show, judging from members of the oddly diverse crowd. There were Spencer Pratt bro look alikes, hippie girls, young high school kids, and maybe a handful of the ultra cool goth girls I had envisioned making up the crowd. I definitely smelled a waft of marijuana more than once, attempting to mask the aromas of sweat and alcohol. Images and stereotypes aside, the energetic crowd masked as one as we all moved to the international language of dance.

Ladytron started things up with Velocifero’s opening track, the ghostly foreign “Black Cat.” As soon as the repetitive drumbeat took hold, I was lost in a trance as the mesmerizing crazy light show possessed the venue, flaring off gold sparkles, silver strobes, neon blue eddies and fire red swirls of fluorescence. And lots and lots of bass. And keys. And sexy girl vocals.

Following numbers included several tracks from Velocifero such as “Runaway,” “I’m Not Scared,” my personal fave “Ghosts,” “Seasons of Illusions,” “Predict the Day,” “Burning Up” and “Deep Blue.” I did recognize a few older tracks as well including Light and Magic’s “Seventeen.” Forgive me for not having a complete or sequential track list, I floated away here and there, kind of amazed that the sound quality of so many layers could sound so not only comparable, but actually better to the original masterwork.

I know I sound like a blathering super fan, but these pop rockers were just that good live—they sold me from my neutral kinda sorta fan status and converted me into a total Ladytron pusher. And for this I am glad, def check this noise live next time they play a stage near you.

MoB: 5 Questions with Ladytron

Myspace: Ladytron

The past few weeks have felt a little bit like an early Christmas for me–every time I’ve picked up a new disc, I’ve felt like I have hit the summer time soundtrack jackpot. Ladytron’s Velocifero is no exception. This swanky, synth pop sensation is a collection of laid back, futuristic girly pop madness. I’m pretty stoked to say I’ll be up front and center to catch this electro pop quartet rock the Vic Theatre on Tuesday with Datarock. I was lucky enough to track down Helen Marnie to help us out with our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of Velocifero? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned towards future recording sessions?

We’re not the kind of band that can write on tour so whenever we had any time off at home that’s when the demo process would take place. Basically, we all have home studios and we like to get demos to a certain stage before taking them into the studio. We recorded in Paris with some additional production from Vicarious Bliss, and Allesandro Cortini in LA. When it comes to studio time we like to make the most of it and put down as many layers as we can, experimenting with different synth sounds and drum rhythms. I think with Velocifero we learnt that collaboration is the way forward, and that we’re now capable of producing ourselves.

What was the last concert you went to see as a fan?

I haven’t actually been to any gigs in a while as I’ve either been on tour or recording. I think the last band I saw was a friend’s prog psyche folk band called The Laughing Windows.

We’re always looking to uncover new favorite artists, are there any band(s)/record(s) that you could recommend to our readers?

I’m looking forward to catching Bat For Lashes and MGMT at some point but our tour dates keep clashing so I always miss out.

With your upcoming tour are there any particular cities or venues that you’re looking forward to playing? Are there any past tour dates that have been especially enjoyable or memorable?

We’re about half way through our North American tour at the moment, and so far the highlights for me have been LA, Austin, and New Orleans. It was my first time in New Orleans so it was nice to see. For the rest of the year we’re going to be really busy with gigs. In Sept/Oct we go to Australia and I’m really excited about that. The boys Djed there a few years ago but we’ve never gigged. Can’t wait. Some of the best gigs we’ve done have been in places where we didn’t expect there to be such an audience. Places such as Columbia, Argentina, and Mexico, where the albums weren’t even available.

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists can reach an audience. With things like blogs/MySpace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

It’s the future for music. MySpace has been such a great portal for getting music out there and making it accessible. So many people are in bands now, and it’s a great way for acts to get noticed. Now, the industry needs to find a way to work it. Obviously a lot of smaller bands need sales to survive. Huge bands such a Radiohead are at a place in their career where they can afford to give away their records for free and it’s a very clever move. I think a happy medium will be found in the end.

Myspace: Ladytron