It must necessarily be considered kind that the bands started more than half an hour late on the outside stage at Mohawk last Friday night. Because if they had begun on time, I would surely have missed the incredible show that DIANA put on to open the night. After freeing up from an appointment run long, I arrived at Mohawk about three songs into DIANA’s set, gleefully surprised that I hadn’t missed the band I badly wanted to catch.
At center stage, lead singer Carmen Elle commanded the attention of the crowd, leaning out over fans as she swayed dazedly to the sexy sounds of her band. Alternating between a guitar slung over her shoulder and completely unadorned of instruments, Elle’s persona dominated the set as concertgoers danced to DIANA’s jazz-tinged arrangements. Elle appeared entranced by her own music, and so were we.
Later in the evening, Austra took the stage surrounded by umbrella-like light diffusers illuminated in a ghostly blue. The silhouettes of frontwoman Katie Stelmanis and her band were backlit by panning LED lights that alternated between green, blue, and yellow. Austra has been garnering acclaim and fans for the past few months leading up to and following the release of their new album, Olympia. The band impressed concertgoers at The xx’s show at The Moody Theater earlier this year, but their show at Mohawk superseded that performance. As the headlining act, performing to an avid fanbase, Austra seemed more in their element and the night progressed to become an all out dance party. Stelmanis’s voice in a live setting loses none of the power that it possess recorded, perhaps clearest on fan favorites and singles such as “Lose it” and “Home.”
What’s certain is that Austra’s art pop built on powerful vocals, synths, and beats carries with it accessibility but remains fresh and distinctive. This is a band on the cusp of wider success. Tune in.
All photos © Bryan Parker & Pop Press International. Click any image to open in slideshow viewer.
