Lafayette, LondonInspiring exuberant energy from euphoric fans, the
UK pop auteur’s first post-lockdown gig is a cathartic, rocket-paced farewell to a repressive period
During that first seemingly unending lockdown in 2020, while most of the world was watching Tiger King or baking bread,
British pop maverick Charli XCX wrote, recorded and released a whole album. A collaborative effort with her fans, titled How I’m Feeling Now, it distilled the boredom, frustration, grief, gratitude and mania of that period into hyperactive club-pop that offered up escapism and introspection when they were needed most.
That record is the focus of Charli’s first post-lockdown UK show. Arriving on stage dressed as if she’s hosting a Matrix-themed aerobics session – in sunglasses, a black floor-length laced jacket, combat boots, cycling shorts and a cropped black sweater with “GAY” emblazoned on it – the 29-year-old barely stops moving during a rocket-paced set.