“Did we warm you up yet!?” roared Jean-Philip Grobler, the man behind the 80’s infused pop-synth band St. Lucia.
On a blizzarding night in Boston, when the opener Sir Sly was kept out of town due to the weather, St. Lucia took an 11 hour trip from NYC to play for a sold-out crowd at Royale Boston. Through the snow and freezing temperature fans made their way in hopes that St. Lucia’s thumping synths and huge hooks would get them moving — and they were not disappointed. St. Lucia arrived to the venue at 9pm and were met with huge cheers as they began to lug in their gear to set-up the stage. The crowd endured a long wait as the stage was set and the band did their soundcheck, and when the music finally began they were met with wild applause.
St. Lucia took their crowd through energized renditions of songs from their debut album, When The Night, and their self-titled EP. Front and center is Grobler’s vocals, as his lyrics make for accessible anthems, with the band filling out the songs with ethereal sounds and danceable beats. The last time I saw them was during their set at Boston Calling last spring, and in addition to expanding their repertoire of songs, they’ve tightened up their sound and mastered how to engage the audience. Grobler’s energy on stage alongside back-up vocalist and keyboardist, Patricia Beranek, helped to get the crowd moving. During their hook-heavy song “Elevate,” the first single off When The Night, just about everyone in the crowd was jumping to the beat. Stand-out track “Closer Than This” drew loud singing from the audience and was one of the highlights of the night. Also, the addition of their recently added lights system behind the band on stage further enhanced and matched their 80s-dance sound. However, where the show was lacking was in it’s setlist construction. Hits and sing-alongs (“Elevate,” “Closer Than This,” “All Eyes On You,” and “We Got It Wrong”) were all placed in the middle of the show, leaving the opening and closings of the show lacking punch and anticipation.
Towards the end of the set they did pull out a great cover of the 80s jam “Ain’t Nobody,” giving it an appropriately modern twist, while giving context to St. Lucia’s influences. Overall, St. Lucia put on a great performance, showing a lot of potential to take it into a phenomenal, not-to-miss performance as they mature and expand their sound. As a band based in Brooklyn, they are often in Boston, so if you’re interested in catching a live performance grab tickets to their recently announced show opening for Foster the People on May 9 at House of Blues.