Concert Review: Tove Styrke at the Belasco Theater

Until last night, I had never been to an electropop concert before. Now, I can't wait until I get the chance to go to my next one.

I got last minute tickets to Tove Styrke's performance at LA's Belasco Theater Monday night (October 15) as one of the final stops on her Sway North American Tour in support of her latest album, Sway. Only one word, really, can do it justice: entrancing.

The Swedish singer and songwriter first gained popularity as a contestant on Swedish Idol in 2009, and after finishing in third place, kicked off a a solo career in electropop and released her debut album, Tove Styrke, in 2010. Eight years later, she's still going strong. With three albums under her belt, Styrke has garnered a huge following throughout Europe with success trickling over to the United States following tours with Lorde and Katy Perry.

One of the first things I noticed walking into the venue was the crowd. The floor was flooded with a weird mixture of 20-somethings, young kids, dads and even a few older people. Going in blind, I had absolutely no idea what to expect.

At nine o'clock sharp, Styrke, joined by Johannes Runemark and Sanna Sikborn Erixon on dueling keyboards/guitars/percussion, hopped on stage from the audience and began to play. Styrke donned a black leather jacket and a black wide-brimmed hat with her name scrawled on the inside; her dancing and gestures mirroring the flashing multicolored lights behind her. She kicked things off with two tracks from 2015's Kiddo, "Borderline" and "Ego" before getting into some covers.

Tove Styrke Setlist (Los Angeles, CA)

"This next song we're gonna do isn't actually one of my own, but it's one of my favorite songs in the entire world," she said. "Do you know it?" And they did. The audience cheered throughout the entirety of her Lorde cover, "Liability," and hung on every word.

"Do you ever lie?," she asked us, "I lie quite a lot. Mostly to myself."

"I Lied" was one (of many) standout songs throughout the show. Her vocoder manipulated vocals and interaction with the crowd throughout the song had everyone dancing, and for a full three minutes and fifteen seconds, we weren't at the Belasco Theater, but somewhere in the inner depths of Styrke's psyche. She held out her mic for a sing-along portion during the chorus, egging us on with her melodic "Iiiiii–– what?" to which the room responded in unison, "LIED!"

One of Sway's four breakout singles, "On the Low," was a soft and sweet ode to the frustrations of low-key relationships that again, everyone around me knew every word to. A few times, I found myself surveying the crowd, wondering what exactly it was about her music that appealed to all of these drastically different people. It was almost, dare I say it, magical.

"I have a question for you, Los Angeles," she posed, "I'm wondering if you guys are ready to give me everything?" The room exploded with cheers and screams as she continued, "This song I wrote with some friends. They're Swedish and they're wonderful." Before playing her ALMA collab, "Good Vibes," Styrke asked if everyone would get low and explode when the beat dropped. They did.

"Even the cool kids," she urged, "and I see a lot of them in here."

Closing out her main set with "Endless," "Changed My Mind," "Say My Name"– which arguably might be one of the catchiest songs EVER– and the album's title track, "Sway," Styrke threw roses into the crowd that people started fighting for like a foul ball at a ballpark.

Check out the music video for "Say My Name."

Tove Styrke "Say My Name" Official Music Video

For an encore, she kicked things off with "Been There Done That," a collab with Swedish duo, NOTD (you might know them from their work with Bea Miller on "I Wanna Know"). Unlike her other synth-heavy songs, "Been There Done That" was stripped back and accompanied by two guitars. The lights were flicked on, and Styrke paused before starting the song to address the crowd a last time:

"This thing that we’re doing right here, you and me. You, just coming to this show and giving me your mouths and being the best is just so incredible to me. Thank you. Thank you so much for coming out. One and a half years of putting together songs and making things that I think are really cool… I put it out and somehow all of you found it and like it- some of you, it means almost as much to you as it means to me- it kills me. Thank you.”

People stuck their roses in the air and moshed in the least moshy way possible– it was, fittingly, more of a gentle sway. She closed the show with another dance-y hit, "Number One," before getting quickly ushered outside. I tried to get a hold of her as she walked past to tell her how surreal and spellbinding the experience was, but within seconds of exiting the stage, she was gone, leaving nothing behind but a couple of rose pedals.

Sway North American Tour remaining dates:

10/17 – CAFE DU NORD, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

10/19 – HOLOCENE, PORTLAND, OREGON

10/20 – THE BILTMORE CABARET, VANCOUVER, BC

10/21 – TRACTOR TAVERN, SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

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Last updated: 25 Apr 2024, 10:16 Etc/UTC