Samuel McDermott
Almost Famous ... with Ladytron
The British group keeps us on our toes during their day in Chicago with a record-shopping binge, a champagne celebration, and a full-on dance party with tour mates CSS
By Kelly Mellott
Published: December 1st, 2006 | 12:39pm
October 6, 2006
2 p.m.
We arrived at the Days Inn that Ladytron was staying at in Chicago’s Lincoln Park area, excited to finally meet the group that I’d been told was super friendly with a great sense of humor.
We bumped into guitarist Daniel Hunt in the lobby, and while photographer Sam and I waited for the others, Hunt showed us his fancy, hi-tech new videophone that Nokia had given to the band. As he showed us an example of the previous night’s footage — a mixture of loud laughing and drunken karaoke — I got the feeling that what I’d heard about Ladytron was true. Vocalists and keyboardists Mira Aroyo, Helen Marnie, and keyboardist Ruben Wu soon joined us, fresh from showers and ready to head out on the next part of our day: record shopping. We climbed into a taxi van, and while we drove to Empire Records, Lincoln Park’s one stop vinyl shop, Wu filled us in about a documentary called Jesus Camp, which he had recently seen. (Read the “Record Shopping With Ladytron” story in Venus Zine’s winter 2006 issue.)
3:20 p.m.
By the time we were done with our vinyl binge, Aroyo and Marnie were starving, so we crossed the street and headed over to Su Van’s Café, a small, sunny café and bakery. Our waiter was different, to say the least, warning us before taking our drink orders that he was the café’s worst waiter and that we shouldn’t expect much … in a nice way. Everyone seemed to agree and a round of veggie chili was ordered.
While waiting for our meals, the cheery group was full of lively conversation, ranging everywhere from TomKat’s baby Suri (“It’s like Rosemary’s Baby!” exclaimed Aroyo) to a hilarious story of a tiny mistake made while on tour in Montreal earlier in the tour. Ladytron had invited the entire audience at their Montreal show to party with them post-performance at a local karaoke club called Café Cleopatra. Because it was their favorite club, the band made sure to hit it up every time they were in town. Unbeknownst to Ladytron, the club had been shut down, and when the band arrived they found a new, incredibly seedy strip club in its place. “I think we alienated a lot of fans with that one!” laughed Wu between bites of veggie chili.
4:15 p.m.
After paying the bill and saying goodbye to our terrible but nevertheless entertaining server (hey, at least he warned us!), we began the walk back to the Vic — the venue Ladytron would perform at tonight — for sound check. On the way, Hunt’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning as we passed Uncle Fun’s Joke Shop. He ran inside and we played around, reliving our childhoods in the eclectic shop of tricks and treats. Realizing the time, we all rushed out of the store and back to the Vic, a few minutes late for sound check.
Tour mates CSS had just finished their own sound check and were heading off stage to their bus to rest. Ladytron handpicked CSS for this tour after Hunt was introduced to their music by his girlfriend and fellow Brazilian. During sound check, the group went through stage lighting and keyboard tuning. Wu was experiencing keyboard troubles but nothing their sound technician couldn’t fix. Ladytron’s friend Andrea Goldsworthy had been commissioned to play bass for the tour and joined us for the rest of the day’s activities.
6:00 p.m.
After sound check and some brief naps, it was time to meet up with the group’s agent for dinner. Outside the venue, fans were already starting to arrive and a small group recognized the band and asked to take pictures with them. They were all smiles as they posed with Ladytron for cell-phone camera shots. Marnie and Aroyo had their hearts and stomachs set on some roasted garlic from Rosebud’s, an Italian restaurant in Chicago’s Wrigleyville area. Time was not on their side, so they settled for Mia Francesca, another Italian cuisine stop closer to the venue. Once our big group was seated, the waiter brought out a complimentary bottle of champagne but it did little to ease Marnie and Aroyo’s roasted-garlicless broken hearts. The waiter offered to ask the chef to do his best to recreate the dream dish, but as he brought it out, the two ladies sighed with defeat. It just wasn’t the same. They politely thanked him, and as he walked away, Marnie whispered, “Ladytron — a bunch of garlic snobs!” with a giggle. Everyone ordered and talked, but the table was long and therefore difficult to communicate from one end to the other. On my side of the table, the adorable, witty ladies of Ladytron entertained me and the photographer as they teased their male band mates and talked of current events, referring to the Atkins’ Diet as the “bowel cancer diet.” Our food arrived, gnocchi for Sam and me, mussels and a green bean salad for Aroyo, and simple linguini and tomato sauce for Marnie.
7:30 p.m.
After dinner, we headed back to Ladytron’s bus. The band began getting ready for the night’s performance while sipping and sharing beers from their bus refrigerator. “It’s the closest thing to home,” Wu explained as he showed off the band’s favorite features of their latest tour bus, including the capability to expand the width of the bus’ front lounge area at the touch of a button.
8:00 p.m.
When we entered the sold-out venue, opening-act CSS already had the entire crowd dancing along to “This Month, Day 10.” Front woman, Lovefoxxx bounced from one end of the stage to the other, diving into the audience and getting her dance on in one of the most energetic live performances I’ve ever seen. She kept the audience on their toes and laughing with her crazy moves and outlandish comments, including a thoughtful dedication to dead R&B singer Aaliyah. CSS closed with their single, “Let’s Make Love and Listen to Death From Above,” and the audience never stopped moving until the final beat.
8:50 p.m.
Ladytron reappeared backstage, dressed and ready for their performance, just waiting for their cue. Marnie and Aroyo wore elegant black dresses and ankle boots and I couldn’t help but think that they were true ladies of rocknroll. The audience roared as the light display on stage pulsed and the band took their respective spots. As they opened with the first song, the audience swarmed below like a buzzing hive, a sea of sweaty faces and bobbing shoulders. During my personal favorite, “Seventeen,” the Ladytron girls, in their stoic, calm manner, walked together like marching soldiers toward the drum stand and both leapt atop gracefully in a single stride to finish with a bang. The lights beat with the rhythm. They finished the encore with “Destroy Everything You Touch,” leaving the crowd screaming for more, more, and more.
10:30 p.m.
The sweaty, tired boys and girls of Ladytron gathered in the Vic’s downstairs dressing rooms for beer, Jager, and an interview for Chicago’s Metromix television show. They retreated afterward to the comfort of home, sweet, home, their tour bus that was parked along a nearby side street. Drinking and conversation filled the bus as everyone began to unwind. Hunt was excited to head out to a bar or club and spent most of his time trying to drunkenly organize everyone to go. He decided on Berlin, a gay bar/dance club in Chicago’s nearby Belmont area. Sam and I opted to head home instead, exhausted from our day of British invasion and said goodbye and thank you to Ladytron for being so great all day.
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