Elizabeth Harper likes to do it in the dark. For the past three performances where I've witnessed Class Actress' lead singer and brainchild, I've noticed that the atmosphere always changes when they go on: the lights get a little dimmer, perhaps in attempt to set the mood for their slow-burning seductive pop gems. I remember when I first discovered Class Actress. They were one of the openers for Little Boots earlier this year, and while I think Little Boots is a great performer and has as much charisma and presence as any mega popstar out there (minus the big-budget spectacle show), Class Actress blew her out of the water. With all the live shows I've seen it's not often that I will like a never-before-seen band fully right off the bat, but I was really entranced by Harper and Co.'s stupid-catchy songs, as well as Harper herself, also entranced and dancing right along to her own songs. Some time passed before I was able to download their Journal of Ardency EP, but the second I heard the album's closer, Someone Real, I knew it was to be my summer jam.
The next chance I was able to catch Class Actress live was their headlining show at the Glasslands Gallery one July night. I've only been there a couple of times, but it's become one of my favorite concert venues because of its odd charm. The place is pretty tiny, and walking in is like walking into a surreal dreamworld. The venue looks like a pastiche of old sets from high school plays melded together. Photographs never really do it justice because the place is so dimly lit, but with the stage area painted light blue with cloud-like paper adornments and lights strewn across it, a performer looks a bit like they're floating on air. Another of Glasslands' "charms" is their complete and total lack of air conditioning. I've referred the place as a sweatbox before because once it fills up it's brutal. But once Class Actress took the stage, the dimly-lit old factory now nearly completely darkened, I really didn't care anymore, and probably literally sweat my ass off dancing. It's hard not to get swept up in the energy of the show because of how Harper herself gets into her music, writhing along while she sings about yearning and longing.
One of the great things about this band is that being based in New York, it's pretty easy to catch a show with them, as they open for some fairly well-known acts pretty frequently. I found out last week that they'd be opening for Bear Hands at Highline Ballroom for a concert sponsored by Playboy (apparently having your concert sponsored by Playboy just means having a couple of unknown Playmates show up and play host with some recent issues of Playboy strewn across the bar). First up were openers Ha Ha Tonka, an odd choice as they were more a country-rock band which, on the surface, seemed to clash with Harper's pop-tronica. I did enjoy the rawness of Ha Ha Tonka's sound, and one of their songs, in the vein of old Negro spirituals, was the highlight of the night (although this particular song was accompanied with the Playmate hostesses on stage, which kind of ruined any gravity the song might have). Finally, it was time for Class Actress. I got a bit giddy watching the Actresses set up their equipment as my boyfriend and I lurked near the stage as non-creepily as possible. The first song was All the Saints, what I gleam to be one of the tracks off their upcoming full-length release. But I noticed something was off about this performance. Not that it takes a great voice to be a brilliant popstar, but Harper's voice was noticeably off-key. Whatever the troubles were, it seemed to leak onto her performance, and instead of her organic dance moves, she seemed to move jerkily around the stage as the songs went on. At the end of the Joy Division-reminiscent Let Me Take You Out, I anticipated Someone Real to be the next song, but Elizabeth abruptly cut the show short, whispering briefly to the keyboardist as they quickly left the stage. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay for Bear Hands, so having that be the end of my live music experience that night left me disappointed. I do hope the problem was just a one-off fluke, but I still have to say that I'm looking forward to catching Class Actress again sometime soon.
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