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Ellie Goulding At The Fox Theater: Show Review

Aeri Koo |
April 16, 2014 | 8:03 p.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Ellie Goulding at The Fox Theater on Tuesday night. (Aeri Koo/Neon Tommy)
Ellie Goulding at The Fox Theater on Tuesday night. (Aeri Koo/Neon Tommy)
We've all seen newcomers who dwindle down once they've instantly reached the Hot 100 list and seem to be an overplayed radio favorite.

This isn't the case for Ellie Goulding, whose "Lights" success had our attention with the reveal of her refreshingly tender voice that's almost impossible to imitate.

Ellie Goulding took a festival break from Coachella and put on a high-energy show at the Fox Theater for her Halcyon Days Tour.

ALSO READ: Coachella 2014: Weekend One Recap

Not shy about flaunting her killer abs and biceps, the synthpop performer has been on a roll of continuous success since her "Lights" album debut. She continued her obsession with all-black outfits that show off her fit bod, clad in a cut-out black top and her signature matching Dr. Martens combat boots.

It's only been four years since her debut album released, yet she already has singing at the White House and at a certain royal wedding on her resume. On top of that impressive list, her personal life consists of experiencing love (she dated Skrillex for a few months) and loss just like the rest of us. Her new album "Halcyon" is a little run-down of her journey full of accomplishments, heartache, and challenges.

ALSO READ: No Sophomore Slump For Ellie Goulding's 'Halcyon'

Growing up as a multi-instrumentalist in Herefordshire, a small county in England, Goulding immersed herself in clarinet, guitar, songwriting, and singing by the time she was 15 years old.

She also adds bass guitar and drums to that impressive list, which she simultaneously mastered with her singing in addition to her already existing four-piece band and three-piece vocal entourage.

Goulding invited fans to "join [her] in some stupid dancing," not that we weren't already, to "Anything Could Happen" and "Under The Sheets."

It was about time we all took a break from the energy-revving melody to focus back on her voice, and with the wind blowing in her hair during "The Writer" and "This Love (Will Be Your Downfall)", she turned into the enchanting Ellie Goulding we all witness in her music videos.

Even with the thumping drums and melodic combination of keyboard and piano, Goulding's voice tops everything. It's as soft and gentle as a butterfly, yet the smokey power of her voice speaks louder than the fusion of the background instruments.

As confident as she is in her voice, it was ironic to see how quickly she became shy behind the mic when she wasn't singing a melody or pounding on her drum. In between songs her voice was barely audible with all the "I love you!" and praise that was almost overwhelming amongst the crowd.

Ending her performance on "I Need Your Love" and "Lights", which were the singalong tunes of the night, it was inevitable that there was going to be an encore. Although the band stepped off stage, lights still remained on stage and the cheers of "Ellie! Ellie! Encore! Encore!" was a demand from the crowd and that no one was ready to leave.

To no one's surprise, as no one left their stance, the band reappeared and welcomed us once again with "You My Everything." In conjunction with her girlish voice, Goulding jumps up and down so lightheartedly it almost reminds you of a 12-year-old girl. 

Jumping seems to be effortless for her - I mean, she tries to run six miles everyday. You can see her soul is naturally connected to the drum beats, seeing how she coordinates her dance moves with each thwack of the drumsticks.

During certain points of the show, one too many I should say, it became difficult to hear Goulding's voice with the entire pit singing along (it was, however, impressive to see that her fans knew the lyrics to all her songs). To prove how loyal her fans are, I witnessed one fan who burst into tears of joy once Goulding came a few feet in front of her and did a 180 degree turn on her knees. For a moment, everyone shifted their attention away from the performance and towards this spellbound fan.

Goulding ended her show with "Burn", in which I started showing off my non-existent singing talents with everyone else. It surprised me how everyone from the pit to the balcony sang along perfectly as if the lyrics were displayed overhead (but then again it shouldn't have surprised me since KIIS FM loves to play this song).

Once she ended with "And we gonna let it burn," the crowd swayed up and down and left to right of let-loose dance moves and each band member released what was left of their energy. With a high-energy show like last night, Ellie Goulding is no doubt going to have a growing fan base in addition to pop culture followers and EDM ravers.

For the weekend 2 Coachella-goers, don't miss out on Ellie Goulding's performance at the main Coachella stage on Friday night.

Read more of Neon Tommy's show reviews here.

Reach Staff Reporter Aeri Koo here.



 

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