HER FIRST EVER SHOW IN LONDON
Tel Aviv’s newest techno standout star played two shows in London on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 November, the former of which was her first time playing in London, at Shoreditch’s XOYO. It’s a two-story club with a lower floor set up as one would imagine an underground basement party: dark, of course; steep steps leading down to an open rectangle-shaped floor plan with lower ceiling that’s interrupted by a few wide, cylindrical support beams. Facing a stage that’s only elevated a few feet, concertgoers can hit up the bar to the left or chill on benches flat against the back wall.
It was on this stage that Noga Erez and her percussion accompanist Ran Jacobovitz (“a weird name for a great guy,” Erez said to introduce him to an enthusiastic audience) played a short set. Erez’s video for the single “Dance While You Shoot” just came out via Berlin-based label City Slang.
Erez is relatively new to the live music scene: she understandably hit a small but resolvable technical difficulty in the third song of her set. And as the small crowd at XOYO filled out, I learned that many audience members came to see the the main act, Roosevelt, (some concertgoers hailing from as far as Venezuela) but were perfectly content to see Erez perform as the opener.
Erez may have just began her journey into the public consciousness, but she’ll be at its peak in no time. “Dance While You Shoot” is a stunningly beautiful video shot in Kiev, with insane perspective shots of the cityscape, including Erez sitting upon the edge of a car park as water and pink fabrics rain down around her. There’s an intense storyline to the video: on the track, Erez has said: “You can’t live without the government that ensures your basic needs, but at the same time takes your money, keeps you in the dark about the real, important matters that affect your life directly, while drowning you in manipulative media, ignorance and bureaucracy.” The video completely engages its viewer with fast cars aglow in rosy light, lots of objects being smashed, various acts of arson, and a great performance by Erez herself, whose dance moves and body language further intensify the provocative lyrics indicative of an empowered individual confronting a controversial group.
We saw the same, energy-filled performance from Erez at XOYO and were really fortunate to catch one of her seven announced shows.
Noga Erez will perform in Berlin and Paris next, but will play at Elvis’ Guesthouse and Union Pool in New York on 5 and 6 December, respectively.
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