Io Echo… echo… echo… Even their name has resonance. Seeing Io Echo is always a good time and last Thursday was no exception.
By the time I arrived at Silverlake Lounge, I was catching the last part of the set by our new friends, The Oohlas. The crowd was a little thin for an Io Echo show but I assumed the best. Their shows are always a full blown dance party in the end.
I wasn’t let down. After opening up with with a dark and lush but slow and bashful introduction, they exploded with “Enter the Exit,” a number with organ chords and an incredibly catchy chorus. I looked back to the audience and the bar was already twice the size it was before her first song. Looking back to the band, Io Echo was then busy with making a song quite the show in itself. Structured in a very schizophrenic tempo, this song started out with slow, deep vocals while the the guitarist and bassist slowly came up like creepy crawlies out of cemetery dirt. Then when you least expected it the driving ferocious chorus of “I’m On Fire” was released and your body was surged with endorphins. At least mine was. Bodies were shaking and grooving to the band’s concoction of goth and dance punk music but ours weren’t the only ones moving to the beat.
When Io’s frontwoman is on any stage, there is an addictive persona. Who knew goth could be so delicious? With vocals that are delivered at just the right beautiful intensity and her body being thrown to the wall, to the floor, over the mic stand, there is such a dichotomy that is entertaining under the lights. Maybe it’s the palm of her hand that shoots straight up beside her face like her own lyrics just may have given herself a heart attack. Maybe it’s her long limbs that she seems to be so aware of to command the stage with. Maybe it’s when those arms don’t flail but slowly rise into a zombie stance and then quickly turn into a bunny hop. Maybe… it’s the fact that she is this force on stage but after each song is done, she bashfully thanks the audience in this 12 year old voice. Whatever it was, all of it was explosive in the most addictive way possible.
Speaking of being “Addicted,” the crowd roared as she and the band played their favorite song towards the end of the set. She knew we were waiting for it and finally, after this great build up, the entire bar got down. I looked back at audience once again and the bar was packed. Io Echo never fails to impress and Silverlake Lounge was lucky to have them that night.
Photography courtesy of Chris Weeks
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