Starting off the night was Alessandro Cortini former programmer and keyboardist for Nine Inch Nails, since departing from NIN in 2009, Alessandro has used the moniker Sonoio to release and create music. Making a rare tour appearance, he linked up with his friends in Ladytron to be the first of two openers on this tour. Arriving promptly on stage at 8pm, under a black hoodie and dark stage, Cortini kneeled down to all of his gear and MacBook laying on the ground and began playing away. With a microphone connected to a string of lights and two bulbs throbbing to the beats he was releasing, it was sparse stage but he managed to make the large club very intimate for his 25-minute set. While many had no idea who he was or what to expect, Sonoio's industrial meets electro sound had the gathering crowd moving and getting into it more and more as his brief set went on. It was a nice welcome to a project he has been working on for quite sometime.
After Sonoio, it was VHS or Beta who returned to their new home of New York City after touring since their intimate headlining gig at Studio at Webster Hall just this past summer. The electronic-dance band, who just released their latest record, Diamonds and Death brought the party to a whole new level. VHS or Beta never disappoint in concert, it is also clear that they can work nearly any size room possible and if they are headlining a show or playing to a room of new faces, they are master entertainers and their music is hard to resist. Playing a majority of songs off their latest record, they closed with their hit single "Night on Fire," which at that point in their brief set, the crowd was already burning and begging for more. Surprisingly they only received 25-minutes to play as well, however, between the two openers, the night was already off to a flying start.
After a quick set up, it was time for headliners, Ladytron to come on. The English five-piece returned to America after a brief absence and this time with brand new material. After just releasing the epic, Gravity the Seducer last month, the crowd for Ladytron were already amped up and ready to exert more energy as the night was still young. With a stage filled with stadium style lighting and a LED Pyramid, Ladytron were ready to put on a light show for the ages. While the band sounded near perfect and the lights enhanced their performance, the band looked as if they could have been elsewhere. Singer Helen Marnie looked like what she was doing was more of a chore rather than entertaining which, personally brought the show down a bit. Nonetheless the rest of the band were focused in on making their sound as audible and clear as they could. With the lights beaming and enhancing the show, Ladytron's fans were simply having the time of their lives, arms were in the air, strangers were dancing with each other and it was all the reason why this was the place to be for this perfect Saturday night. With a majority of songs coming off Gravity the Seducer, the band got their biggest cheers for "Ace of Hz" and "Seventeen," before walking off stage to close their hour long first set. With the crowd begging for an encore, the band, of course granted it and by 11 pm, it was a wrap. Which for most places would be the end of the night, but these three bands kicked off the crowds evening and they were all soon spilling into the streets ready to dance some more.