It has been a long time since I came back from a concert covered in beer. Thankfully, the good Lady Sovereign broke that trend last night as she doused the front row with a bottle of Heineken. “That’s good shit” she said, in her thick London accent, her voice dripping with mischief. Sovereign is a woman not to be messed with but she can put on one hell of a show.
|
| |
Lady Sovereign
|
 Entertainment
Art
The Metro
Chicago, IL
May 14, 2009
|
| |
|
|
At only 5’1” Lady Sovereign (aka Louise Harmon) considers herself the “biggest midget in the game” and it’s no surprise why, the girl packs a punch. Her music style is often compared to Eminem but that’s not quite right. Given her UK background and love of chaos onstage it is impossible not to think of her as the badass love child of Mike Skinner from The Streets and Sid Vicious.
By 23 years-old Harmon already has three albums under her belt and each one bends the rules of hip-hop. With a masterful drummer and DJ backing her up Sovereign takes the microphone and owns the stage. As the night began she ran up to the mic, wearing baggy clothes and a kitschy wool hat. With a scream she busted into the song “Let’s Be Mates” a high intensity track perfect for revving up the audience. From there she went into the fan favorite “Random”, by far her most recognizable track.
Now that the courtesies were out of the way it was time to get to business. “Is that one of my f-ing t-shirts?” Sovereign asked a fan in the front row that was waving the shirt high and proud. “Can I see that?” She asked as the fan through it on stage. Without a hint of hesitation she thanked the fan and then started playing with the shirt like it was a towel, wiping various places on her body with it (including some not so sexy areas) and throwing it back to the gushing fan. It’s impossible to tell whether or not that action was meant as a compliment or an insult to the fan but they loved it regardless. That shirt was waving proudly for the rest of the show.
Though her set was surprisingly short every song tore the roof off. The Metro is the perfect venue for a musician like Sovereign. In such intimate surroundings a conversation of sorts built up over the course of the night. There was a sense of comfort among audience and musician that is hard to find any place else. Sovereign even bummed a cigarette off a fan in the front row.
The only thing that hampered the night was her opening acts. Chicago native Hollywood Holt busted out some old school Chicago hip-hop masterfully but Chester French just tried way too hard. In one of the most awkward moments of the night, French’s lead singer motioned for two barely legal girls to come up on stage and grind on him during a song. The song wasn’t bad but the pedophilia vibe kind of ruined it.
If last night’s show is any indication Sovereign has a long musical career ahead of her. She is bright and unpretentious, a solid mix for any serious musician. Keep an eye on the good lady Sovereign, I have no doubt we will be hearing from her for quite some time.
Powered by AkoComment 2.0!
