Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

It wasn’t long before the lineup got outrageously long while waiting outside Toronto’s Kool Haus for LIGHTS “biggest

show to date”. The line up was easily around this huge building. I arrived in the line at about 5 pm, and while in the line I met up with a bunch of pretty cool LIGHTS fans like Mike, and Donna. Hanging with such awesome fans, (now friends) made the cold and long wait, into a very warm and fun experience. You know what they say don’t you? Time flies when you’re having fun.

The minute my right foot hit the inside tile of the Kool Haus, I jetted to the stage area to get a good spot as close to the stage as possible. I was still a good 2, or 3 people away from the front, despite my best efforts. It wasn’t long before the floor got crowded with huge fans who loved LIGHTS just as much as any one out there. There was even a girl willing to fight over her spot, but that’s a story for another time.

So, Jets Overhead. Let’s talk about them.

If I can remember correctly, there were 3 men, and 2 women. One of the men was on the bass, he seemed pretty… how one would describe as “Chill” very jazzy too. Their music is definetly something I would listen to everyday! They are an excellent band with a loads of potential to go super far with their career. You should definetly check them out www.jetsoverhead.com .

In the middle of the opening act, I couldn’t stand at the front anymore. I was feeling too surrounded, too closed in… like there were too many people in my personal bubble. Not to mention that some girl behind me was basically threatening my well being if I didn’t get out of her spot, as if she owned it for that moment.

So, moving through the crowd so I could get to the less dense, back area of the crowd was difficult, but everyone was pleased to see that about a square foot of space has opened up near the front.

When I got to the back, all I could hear were screams of anticipation. That could mean but only one thing, that LIGHTS had walked onto stage. Sure enough as I settle in a nice, comfortable place, I saw LIGHTS.

What could any fan expect of LIGHTS, but pure, unfiltered awesomeness? Well, that’s exactly what we got. The plain white backdrop turned into something you would see at a movie theatre. It had some cool videos to add to the cinematics of the lyrics. While “Face Up” was playing, the backdrop was displaying images of buildings being demolished… who knows the point behind that?

What was pretty cool during her performance, is not only did we get to hear a lovely instrumental in the middle of the set, but we also got to watch AudioQuest: A Captain LIGHTS Adventure on the big screen! Just like in the theatres.

Just after LIGHTS had finished a song, a young man jumped on the stage and gave her a hug. Just a few seconds later security jumped on the stage and with some force, yanked him right off and kicked him out. Oh, I believe LIGHTS said his name was John, and brushed it off, like dirt on a shoulder.

Then I heard it. My all time favourite song, “Last Thing On Your Mind”. Although, from prior experience at LIGHTS concerts, when I hear that song, it pretty much means her set is done, thank you and have a goodnight.

The huge Toronto Crowd would have nothing of it though! When the lovely LIGHTS walked off the stage, the audience

would scream “LIGHTS! LIGHTS! LIGHTS! ONE MORE! ONE MORE!”. After about what felt like an eternity of waiting, out came LIGHTS. She blessed us with a Phil Collins cover and a February Air acoustic, which of course was lovely. Thenthe show was over. I’m sure everyone that was there, will be talking about this show for days to come.

Come back soon LIGHTS!

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ALL THESE FANS WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOU SOON!

 

 It’s said that looks aren’t everything. And with 22-year-old Canadian synth-pop performer Valerie Poxleitner — a.k.a. LIGHTS — that’s certainly true.

This article by the Star Phoenix is amazing, check it out here!

Lights is Valerie Poxleitner, a Canadian singer-songwriter.
She’s been described as the the female Owl City, which I think is appropriate; her music is synth-pop, or as she describes it “inter-galactic electro“, with simple, almost childlike (in a good way) lyrics.
I’ve honestly never heard anybody like her before; her music is the song equivalent of rainbows, and candy, and pretty space constellations, if any of that makes any sense.

Click here for the full review

“The album starts out with the catchy track, “Savior,” a song that has been on previous EPs and is probably her most popular song to date.”

Is it just me, but is there something not right about that statement? Sure, Saviour was a single, released with the Listening as well as two remixes… but if I remember correctly.. it wasn’t on her EP.

“LIGHTS, whose actual name is Valerie Poxleitner”

Uhhh, no. Her actual name is LIGHTS Poxleitner… get with the times.

Aside from the incorrectness, it is a good review. Encourages people to buy the album and listen to it. Anthony Robinson also claims that LIGHTS will be the next biggest thing out there. Good for him, he does know what he is talking about.

Review HERE

“An emo tional roller coaster across the solar sys tem. At first glance, the pre vi ous state­ment is sure to leave some scratch ing their heads in won der, but it is the per fect expla­na tion of Lights’ debut full-length album, …..”

An amazing review done up by Shawn. You can read the full review here!

More attention to LIGHTS!  With this simple, yet stellar review.

Verdell Wilson outlines all of LIGHTS awesomeness in just a simple three or so paragraphs!

You should check it out here

“In other words, she’s totally my dream best friend (no offense to my actual best friends, but come on, you guys really need to step it up).”

The Listening is a solid synth-pop album the whole way through, filled to the brim with Lights’ powerful vocals and her icy but warm new wave synths. At times, one might be reminded of Cyndi Lauper or Vanessa Carlton’s girly but powerful vocals, or the synth works of The Postal Service or early Depeche Mode, but The Listening is uniquely Lights. Highlights include the winter love anthem “February Air”, the WoW inspired “Lions!”, and the heart-wrenching but brilliant ballad “Pretend”.

So on the 22nd of September, The Star released its CD pick of the week. Now, what pick might that be? Well, since I’m posting it on a LIGHTS fansite, it better have at least something to do with LIGHTS. Well guess what…

The CD pick of the week was no surprise to anybody. The Listening was bound to be the choice. In this article, they pick the top songs in the album and pick it apart! View the article here!

“”Ice” is a galvanizing, ’80s-checkin’ strut that borrows heavily from Matthew Wilder’s “Break My Stride” and climaxes with a rather ingeniously placed shout-out to Vanilla Ice.”

Oh.. what? ANOTHER INTERVIEW?

Come on… are you really surprised? LIGHTS is expanding her fan base exponentially as the days go on! No wonder people can’t wait to get their hands on a juicy interview! To read it, click here!

“Lights is sim­pli­fied ver­sion of my last name, Poxleitner, so it ini­tially started as a nick name. “

“Finally, if you haven’t figured it out from all her sci-fi stylings, Lights is a big space-geek. That’s a personality trait we’ve never seen before in a svelte, raven-haired popstar-on-the-rise. But the title’s legit — she knows her space-shit.”

That is just a small excerpt out of this lovely article written by Edmonton’s “See Magazine“. It was written in advance of LIGHTS tour date there with Keane, on Sunday September 13, 2009. I’m sure they are super stoked for such an event. What an amazing article done here. View this article by clicking here!