Crystal Castles at Fonda Theatre

This past Friday, Crystal Castles put on an intense performance at their sold-out Fonda Theatre gig. Despite the heat the band has received since the replacement of original lead singer Alice Glass with new 21-year-old Edith Frances, Crystal Castles turned up and showed fans what the fuck was up. It got hot, it got steamy and it got sweaty. Let’s just say, Crystal Castles dished that heat right back like it was nobody’s business.

The last time Crystal Castles toured, producer Ethan Kath showcased new material and gave fans a chance to warm up to the new face of the band. Now that the duo has released their new full length album Amnesty(I) we were interested to see what they would deliver performance wise. Seconds before they went on, the stage started to fill up with smoke which got the crowd cramming up to the front to get a good look at the duo. Lights slowly started to dim as bright blue strobes bagan to flash repeatedly while Kath took the stage behind his neon green synthesizer. The opening synth sounds and subtle bass of “Concrete” welcomed Frances to the stage before she showed off her impressive vocal range.

Crystal Castles at Fonda Theatre

Crystal Castles stepped it up a notch and started to lay down heavier beats and raucous vocals causing an ecstatic reaction from the audience. Even the strobes started to pop faster and brighter which were blinding whilst adding a sense of chaos. Frances displayed relentless energy as she jumped around soaking wet whipping her head left and right. Production mastermind Kath quietly lurked stage left behind his synths with subtle head bobs.

Crystal Castles showcased a fierce mixture of old songs from their self titled, (II) and (III) albums with songs from Amnesty(I) mixed in. The new album translated exceptiaonlly well live. They concluded their set with a mesmerizing performance of “Not in Love” and encore “Wrath of God.”

Frances had some very large shoes to fill and she executed flawlessly. She proved her voice to be more dynamic than Alice’s during “Celestica” which was originally performed by Alice Glass. Edith Frances might not have the same stage presence Alice Glass has that attracts the demographic that favors the old duo, but Edith definitely brings more to the table vocally and packs a punch.

Photography: Andrew Gomez