Carly Rae Jepsen @ The Fonda 2/25/16
It may be an early call, but if Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance at the Fonda Theater proved anything, it’s that she’s an icon in the making.
At the very least, she’s reaching gay icon status. Screams of “CARLY SLAY” erupted throughout the evening as hordes of girls and gays sung along to pop’s greatest guilty pleasure.
Sporting a minimal, criminal, little black dress and a dark, close-cropped mullet (for lack of a better term), Jepsen combined the punk force of Joan Jett with the pixie power of the Spice Girls. The energy of the Fonda felt as if a stadium-level performance condensed itself into a prom room dance floor. Jepsen sharpens her cherubic voice into a musical guitar pick, one which strums right at your heartstrings. She gives us the dance we never got in high school, combining idealist youth with the confidence and experience we lacked at that age.
Playfully assertive, Jepsen’s lyrics reveal a sharp pop sensibility, an ability to convey situations listeners empathize with as well as Jepsen. She probably won’t make you cry, but who cares when she’s gonna make you smile?
Her own band also shared in Jepsen’s euphoria; jubilant guitars and synthesizers merged with her adolescent tone to form a sonic supernova. With each track, they drew from the audience’s energy, whether it was backup singers sharing their “Boy Problems” to the audience, or a tenor saxophone bursting with fervor in “Let’s Get Lost.”
That fervor the crowd gave for every single track shows how prolific Jepsen has become as a pop star; the audience sang along for almost every track, from the Little Boots sounds of new tracks like the boiling “Warm Blood” to deeper cuts such as “This Kiss” and “Tiny Little Bows.” By the time she busted out “Call Me Maybe” the crowd served as her backup chorus.
Everyone enjoyed themselves that night; none no more so than Jepsen herself: “I’m having so much fun tonight!,” enthused yet amazed by the power of her music. She proved that even if she’s not yet an icon, she is a teenage dream, a testament that “you & me” can really be as simple, and as fun, as a good pop song.
