Review: L’Imperatrice Rock Los Angeles
AS MY PHOTOGRAPHER BIATA AND I WALKED INTO THE FONDA THEATRE IN HOLLYWOOD - Inner Wave was wrapping up the last few songs of their set. The venue was packed, merch table unattended, and as expected, a massive line surrounded the bar. At risk of sounding like a grandma, it was a late show for LA, and a week night show at that - But the excitement in the air was palpable. As I loitered around the crowd I kept overhearing fun tidbits of information. Many fans were seeing this group for the second time in a week, having caught their Coachella set. Other fans, like my new friend Daniel, were there to see Inner Wave, and had never heard L’Imperatrice’s music before. And finally, we had those devoted fans, who stayed close to the front toting handmade signs and banners alike. Ultimately, by the end of the show every single person in the venue appeared to have been won over by the group, with a standing ovation that extended even into the seated balcony section.
One enthusiastic fan had managed to smuggle in some contraband- colorful balloons that lit up. Unfortunately, these aforementioned balloons were promptly popped by venue security, however the crowd managed to keep one balloon out of their clutches for the entire show. It became a group effort- crowd against the law so to speak. In another such display of standing up to authority, one audience member seemed particularly enthralled with the background music preceding L’Imperatrice’s set. He was standing up and dancing on the balcony, and pretty soon had the whole crowd dancing with him. When venue security came to ask him to sit down, no less than the entire venue audience began to boo. The people had spoken, and this man was allowed to continue moving and grooving.
Shortly thereafter, the stars of the night, French indie pop collective L’Imperatrice walked onto the stage, united in their nearly matching orange outfits and light up hearts beaming off of their shirts. To say that these colorful light up hearts didn’t initially remind me of Trolls World Tour “Heartbeatbox” would be a lie. These heart lights would have felt gimmicky, even a bit absurd, had they not been worn so enthusiastically by the band members. You got the impression from the opening note of their first song that this band was fully prepared to leave it all on the stage. The entire six person group, regardless of if they were standing behind one of the symphony of synths on stage, keyboards, or strapped into a guitar, bass, even seated at the drums, did not stop dancing the entire length of the show. I felt that these musicians were true entertainers - serious and skilled musicians whose ultimate goal was to get the audience jumping, laughing, and singing along (even if the words were in French).
There was everything from coordinated dance moves between different group members, such simultaneous jumps from the guitarist and bassist. The different group members shuffled themselves amongst the various instruments. It was not uncommon for the drummer to grab the bass, for the bassist to hop on a synth, and for the lead singer to suddenly emerge with an egg shaker. The entire performance, particularly the quirky rag doll like dance moves from the lead singer were delivered with an eccentricity that only the French could bring to a performance.
What I appreciated most about this performance, was the communication between L’Imperatrice and the audience. From the first introduction, where lead singer, Flore Benguigui, expressed their excitement over finally getting to play in Los Angeles, the group seemed very attentive to the energy levels of the crowd. Even more praiseworthy, they seemed prepared to match those energy levels. Bass player, David Gaugué, was willing to sweat through his shirt in order to deliver the groovy bass lines that captivated the audience. His winking into the crowd certainly did not hinder the slow seduction L’Imperatrice built with this crowd. Achille Trocellier, the guitarist, held up the opposite end of the stage from Gaugué, the two of them often playing to each other without even having to glance over. Tom Daveau, who predominantly dominated the drum kit, was the (no pun intended) heartbeat of that stage, guiding his bandmates into such a consistent and unyielding beat. It was impossible not to groove to the music. Finally, Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon, both remaining behind their respective set ups until the encore were impossible to tear your eyes away from. Boisseguin appeared like a mad scientist, laser focused on creating the perfect accompaniment to every given moment of a song. Gwon began the set in a bucket hat that I can only hazard flew off of his head as his metronome of hair swung back and forth throughout every song. In every show I attend, I always find there is one band member I cannot peel my eyes away from. Last night, Gwon was this band member.
About midway through the set, Benguigui gave the audience a much needed break to cool down from all of the dancing by assessing the gender split of the crowd. After remarking that there appeared to be more men than women, she assured the audience not to worry. “In each and every man there is a woman,” she explained. She continued by explaining the band’s name - it means “The Empress” in French. She followed this up by conducting an “experiment” to “let your inner woman speak, scream and express herself like never before”. Smiling underneath a pink bob she counted down and permitted the most primal screams to exit the audience. Remarking that some people had been too shy, the drummer then counted everyone down and opened their next song with screams.
After “finishing” their set, they had the audience absolutely begging for either an “encore” or “one more”. Thanks to mine and Biata’s earplugs, we had a hard time distinguishing what everyone was saying, but understood that they were asking for the night not to end. L’Imperatrice happily obliged, playing the song they might be best known for, “Vanille Fraise”. This rendition opened with a spotlit dramatic drum solo that had most people around me (and myself included) standing mouth agape. After playing that and an unreleased track (that they truly cannot release soon enough), they thanked their sound and lighting guys as well as their tour manager and asked the audience to clap for them as well. It was clear from the look on their faces that they were shocked at their reception, a true success of a night, which is quite the feat considering how jaded crowds in LA (and this author) are known to be at shows. Los Angeles is ready to see them again soon! And if you have the chance to catch the last show of their tour this weekend at Coachella, it cannot come highly recommended enough.
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