Conway and The Fratellis perform at Fonda Theater
When the curtain came up at the Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, Conway stood at center stage with a strange and confident presence that made everyone look up from their pre-show drinks. Dressed in a shiny gold full-body spandex suit and sporting a dishevelled short blond head of hair, she appeared to be more of a futuristic superhero than a rock band frontwoman. From the outset, Conway commanded the stage with her bold personality, obscure costume choices and, above all, unfiltered energy and enthusiasm.
Headline “Killer” · Los Angeles singer Conway opened for The Fratellis, but the blonde songstress stole the show at the Henry Fonda Theater in Hollywood with her unique dance moves and catchy pop songs. – Photo courtesy of Sony Music
The L.A.-based artist returned to her hometown on the West Coast leg of The Fratellis’ tour, after opening for the Scottish rock group in Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, Ore. The tour is in conjunction with the release of her new EP, Big Talk. Conway played all four of the songs from the recent release in the high-energy show.
Conway is as unique in her musical style as she is with her wardrobe. Her music meets somewhere in the middle of pop and rock, with her punkish vibe coming through regardless of how slow or fast the song is.
Rolling Stone recently named Conway one of the the top 10 discoveries at New York City’s CMJ festival. The magazine described her performance as “enthralling” and her style as a mix between Karen O and Ke$ha.
To better understand her style, it might be useful to throw in a bit of Pink with a dash of Lady Gaga. In short, she’s punky, talented and just the right amount of weird.
Her opening track, “Killer,” kicked off the affair with a driving bass and rhythmic guitar in the light, poppy track. Conway herself jumped right into it with an impressive display of obscure, almost interpretive dance moves. She commanded attention from the crowd as the first of three acts, and transitions from a nameless opening act to the life of the party.
It would be easy to dismiss her as a freak with her ridiculous costume and dancing — that is, until she opened her mouth. Her vocal range was impressive, demonstrating the power needed to front a rock group, with the soft tenderness of any leading female vocalist.
The headline track, “Big Talk” was the show’s highlight and the artist’s most popular. The song was lead by a funky, bouncing bass and a catchy chorus that is just asking for radio plays.
The single sports its very own music video that has a currently racked up nearly 400,000 views on the artist’s VEVO account. Conway shot the video entirely herself on her MacBook, filming at various locations in Downtown Los Angeles. If Conway is to break out from the underground and make it into the mainstream, it will surely be on the heels of tracks such as “Big Talk.”
“Hustler” marched along with a driving drum line and booming vocals. Conway really dove into her performance of the song, bouncing around the stage with her version of the robot and pelvic thrusts. The band continued to play as if it’s completely normal. The backing group is talented, but this show is about only one person.
In the singer’s final song, “Take Me Back,” Conway showed off her skills further on the pop end of the spectrum. The slower song has less punky bass and more tender vocals, showing that she can own the stage with her voice, as well as her dancing and funky costumes.
Conway concluded her set with an overwhelmingly positive response from the audience. Even though the evening was not about her, she surely won over the audience, evidenced by the massive line at her merchandise table throughout the rest of the evening.
Following Conway’s performance, fellow Angelenos The Ceremonies played an impressive 45-minute set. The folk-rock group consists of three brothers: Matthew, Michael and Mark Cook. All under the age of 21, the trio sports a Jonas Brothers-type of appeal. The three stand in their respective thirds of the stage, each sporting a different hairstyle. Fratellis frontman Jon Fratelli described The Ceremonies as “talented, but too f-cking handsome.”
Their music is equally as appealing as their style. The three brothers bounced off each other in harmonies like those of the Beach Boys, as the array of guitars, saxophones and harmonicas built a multilayered, but never messy, rock sound.
The Fratellis, playing as the main event of the evening’s program, did not disappoint. The Glasgow-based indie group filled a two-hour set with a mix of old hits and songs from their newest record, We Need Medicine, to culminate in a fabulous show.
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