If dancing truly is dangerous, then St. Lucia put a lot of people in danger on Thursday night at the Barrymore Theatre as they lifted the audience to their feet with their upbeat, slightly alternative music.
St. Lucia is the project of South African lead singer Jean-Philip Grobler — and while his entrance to the night’s performance brought out a loud cheer, the rest of the band, including his wife Patti Beranek, were ready to energize the crowd.
The opening song of the evening, “September” from St. Lucia’s debut album When the Night, set the tone for the night. The upbeat, '80s style synths combined with the flashing lights on stage and the dancing of the band got the crowd going early.
St. Lucia is touring to support their most recent album Hyperion, which was just released a couple weeks ago. The band reached into that album for the second song on the night, blasting out “China Shop” and sparking the intimate crowd into life.
The Barrymore pit is right up close to the
As the dance music and lights pulsated, everyone was having a good time. Grobler seemed to give the audience — and his drummers — a chance for a break as he played a softer version of another song off Hyperion called “Bigger.” Grobler was saying he and his wife wrote it for their son, but its slower pace and decreased energy didn’t make it any less of an enjoyable experience.
Then St. Lucia brought back the life and spirit of the audience with dancing and lights
The energy continued to pick up in the crowd and on the stage, especially during the crowd-favorite “Dancing on Glass.”
After their last song, St. Lucia came back out for an encore, ending with “Elevate,” but it was clear the crowd didn’t want to say goodbye. Though St. Lucia brought the energy to the packed Barrymore, the crowd responded in kind.
