British The XX brought their cool, glossy sound to a sold-out WaMu Theater on April 24th. As the intermission between opener Sampha and The XX passed, the audience began to fill the warehouse-like space, ready to engage with a band who has been known suffer from anxiety. Once the band took the stage, it was clear they were comfortable in front of this Seattle crowd. At one point Oliver proclaimed his love for our city, and later in the show Romy did the same. Their comfort with us may be secondary to the comfort they have with each other, but it was clear how close the two are. They took turns singing lead vocals, and spent a lot of the show facing each other, as if they were alone.
And as they played, giant mirrored pillars rotated on the stage, catching the lights like prisms, beautifully accentuating the spacey sounds. The lights danced out across the audience who happily sang along, and swayed with the music. Their set was a good mix of their 3 albums, and a few tracks from Jamie xx’s solo work. At the end of the show, they all held hands at the front of the sage and bowed, which felt somehow innocent and authentic. We left the theater for the chilly Seattle night, warmed by The xx’s loving musical embrace.
The XX Set List:
Say Something Loving
Crystalised
Islands
I Dare You
Lips
Sunset
Basic Space
Performance
Brave For You
VCR
Dangerous
Fiction
Shelter
Loud Places
Encore:
On Hold
Intro
Angels
More about: The xx
