Christ(ine and the Queens) @ the Wiltern 10/27/18
On Saturday night at the Wiltern Theater, Héloïse Letissier, aka Christine and the Queens and now just Chris, continued to prove to us all that she remains in a league of her own when it comes to being an artist.
Ever since I saw her open for Grimes’ March of the Pugs tour in 2016, I’ve craved the chance to see Letissier back in her natural element – on stage, moving, surrounded by her dedicated dancers. Her ability to channel theatrics and choreography with her bilingual tracks makes for one of the most dazzling displays I’ve ever seen, and her Wiltern performance reassured me that she only improved with age.
With her close-cropped hair and flowing red button-down, Letissier looked as durable as she did decorative. The warm rouge billowed behind her as she cavorted across the stage, which she enhanced with clever props and brilliant lights. In “Goya Soda”, she covered the stage in a green smokescreen; as Letissier went in to embrace one of her dancers, their own body began to produce smoke as well. It was just one of the many unique ways the Chris show stood out, ways that honestly cannot quite be conveyed through photographs. To be clear, the videos I use here are from different shows as my iPhone camera does not do her any justice.
Impressively, Letissier blasted through all of her latest album, Chris, alongside cuts from her debut, Chaleur Humaine, throwing in a few covers and snippets throughout (hello, “Nasty“). Despite the heavy dancing and how well she sounded, the singer never missed a note. And like a badass who knows they’ve got a crowd enraptured, she played “Tilted”, the Christine and the Queens track, in the middle of her set, instead choosing to close with an impressive rendition of “La Marcheuse”. The falling streams of sand during that number presented a simple yet still awesome visual effect, further proof that Letissier is just a master at this all.
The encore involved an intimate rendition of “Saint Claude”, possibly her most beautiful song, followed by a bonus cut “Intranquilite” off of her first album. It marked the end of a wild rush of an evening, one that felt celebratory, resistant, and quite queer.
Other acts may want to take note of all this, but unfortunately, only a few people have this type of range. Letissier does have the range, along with so much more I cannot wait to see.