Lykke Li @ Bottom Lounge 8/7/2009

(by John Brunner)

Friday night at the Bottom Loungewas reminiscent of the storms that swept through the city and Lollapalooza earlier in the day.  Odds are someone,out of their control, randomly lost their power-as with UK’s rising popsensation Esser. You sheltered yourself from the rain through covering up, asStockholm’s electro-dance outfit Miike Snow covered up their identities. Yetthrough the sporadic downpours, you let yourself get lost in the moment andend up having more fun than you would imagine in the way only Lykke Li could havedelivered that evening.

"Dance, Dance, Dance,: with itspattering drumstick intro, was only a foretaste to the sellout crowd as LykkeLi (né Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson) huddled over and whispered into the mic.What she conjured up was an evening wavering between calm, sweet pop androlling, sauntering dance. Peaking through amid the stage lights were momentsof reprise as with "Everybody But Me," yet so early in the set it nearly slidunnoticed over the audience. Not to say we were inattentive, but to say thatshe knew how to lure people, enrapture them in her voice and delicate melodies,before letting loose a torrent as she did with "I’m Good, I’m Gone" justafterwards.

Passing over the midnight markand edging into Day 2 (all three bands’ Lolla sets took place on Saturday), theyoung 23-year old Swede held the stage with an unparalleled presence. Not onlydid the music taper and surge, keeping the crowd hooked in dancing beats fromthe sonic likes of Until We Bleed, but her effortless enthusiasm constantlyflowed; often funneled into the nearby floor tom before scattering into theaudience. Andrew Wyatt of Miike Snow even came out for a duet, though soonthereafter an impromptu transition stole the night. Pounding fiercely at thehanging speaker with drumstick and mic at hand, Lykke Li’s took Lil Wayne’s AMilli and molded it with her own minimalist electro-pop into the perfect lead-infor the set-ending Breaking It Up. 

The Aftershow came to an end overthe tranquil, megaphone-less "Tonight." Although the crowd could have continuedwell into the dawn, ending with the piano-punctuated serenade was the lastdrops of a soaked opening day of Lollapalooza’s enduring influence in the city.

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