Valerie Poxleitner, better known as Lights, made a stop at the Bronson Centre Nov. 23 as part of her cross-Canada tour.
With her sophomore album Siberia, and through her stage presence, the Canadian electro-pop star has proved she’s a dynamic artist.
The concert drew in a large crowd, with a line that snaked around the block before the concert. The most diehard fans waited out in the bitter cold for five hours. Many people in the crowd wore Lights T-shirts and sang along to every song. Lights said that Ottawa is one of her favourite places to play because of its strong fan base.
Throughout the show, she alternated between multiple instruments with ease. At one point, she was playing two keyboards at once, at another an acoustic guitar before seamlessly transitioning to her staple keytar.
Similarly, her set list showcased a mix as well. Lights played many of her older and more popular songs like “February Air,” as well as newer ones like “Toes.”
Her newest album was heavily influenced by dubstep so the music on Siberia is highly danceable, although her new songs are much grittier than her older ones. At one point, her band left the stage so she could slow down the tempo and play the emotion-ridden “Heavy Rope” on the keyboard.
Unfortunately, the Bronson Centre took away from the energetic performance. The theatre only allows the first 70 people in line to stand at the front of the hall and the remaining fans are forced to sit. Furthermore, the acoustics weren’t the best since the theatre wasn’t originally designed to house music concerts — let alone electronic sets.
Lights kept the show’s pace going with a mix of emotional moments and lighthearted banter.
Right before “The Last Thing On Your Mind,” Lights reminded the crowd that this is the point in her set when the fire alarm went off last time.
“Looks like we’re in the clear for now," she said.
Lights closed the show with an encore performance of her new romantic ballad “Cactus In The Valley” and upbeat and electronic “Lions!” — an inspirational song laced with World of Warcraft references, as a testament to her love for video games and comics.