ladytron by lindsey best for L.A. RECORD

UPDATE: Live photos by Lindsey Best below!

Was 50 Cent at the Henry Fonda on Sunday, April 26? No, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t sexual innuendo-laced lyrics on top of ass-bouncing beats floating through the steamy air as young, hot, bodies grinded on each other.

Shrouded in a light show back-lit by videos screening behind them, the Faint delivered. After rushing through a maze of L.A. traffic to get to the early concert (the Faint went on at 8:15), I felt a little crabby, pushing through the crowd to get up close. But, the moment “Take Me To The Hospital” blasted through the speakers—crabby no more—my heart started pumping and my feet started moving. The energy escalated from beginning to end. Like a little bag of Sour Patch Kids, each song was sweeter and more sour then the last. And at the very end, licking the sugar at the bottom of the bag, I was completely sated with the Faint’s last three songs, a glittery trifecta of “Glass Danse,” “Worked Up So Sexual,” and “Agenda Suicide.”

After quite a wait, cool and clean Ladytron sent a wiff of British perfume into the sweat-laden air. Why these two bands would co-headline a tour, I will never understand. I like my Faint late at night after a couple lemonade-vodkas—and Ladytron is a little too mellow to go on after such a sound explosion. By the third song, I realized how incredibly young the audience was and how tight it was up front by the stage. Though there was a decent amount of dancing (and some grinding) for the Faint, it quickly dwindled as Ladytron pulled deep dark beats from their vintage synths. In the candy bag of music, they were a box of cherry cordials at a children’s birthday party—overdressed kids curiously fondled them, but, in the end, didn’t eat them.

—Linda Janota

UPDATE: Click here to select an album of live photos by Lindsey Best!

The Faint at the Henry Fonda

14 Photos

Ladytron at the Henry Fonda

6 Photos