An evening at The Ritz Ybor is bound to be entertaining when the first thing your eyes see is a leather clad Richard Haig gyrating around the stage. In fact, he and his band – Panic Bomber – certainly fulfilled their opening act duties quite well. They had everyone’s eyes transfixed on them, and while the Miami-based Haig looked loose in his rather tight leather pants, his horn section did seem a bit rigid. The sound coming from their instruments was crisp and clear, but group – which looked like fresh-faced University of Miami music students – was too focused on their sheet music to be wholly captivating. Still, there was nothing to worry about because Thursday’s other two acts were about to literally and figuratively try their best to blow the roof off of the building.

Francis and the Lights

Hitting the stage at precisely 9 p.m., Francis Farewell Starlite and a lone guitar player – Jake Rabinbach – launched into an eight-song set that was both oddly enchanting and slightly annoying. Starlite’s 2008 EP, A Modern Promise, is littered with the kind of low end that’ll have you shaking and swaying your ass in no time, but the first couple of tracks found the deep bass mixed loud enough to almost shake liquor bottles off of the bar shelf. Seeing the gathered audience staring blankly at Starlite was a shame because his vocal perfectly echoed the subtly soulful delivery found on any one of his releases.

However, his eccentric stage performance was definitely still something to behold. Dressed in a black trench coat and shades, the singer confidently strutted across the stage, twirling his mic and even asking the onstage sound engineer to tweak a few things in the mix. His advice finally kicked when he and Rabinbach – who fronts Memphis’ Jump Back Jake – launched into “Knees To The Floor.” The bass was toned down and more than a few audience members could be overheard saying, “this guy sounds like Phil Collins!” While being compared to the world-famous Genesis drummer/vocalist is certainly a compliment, Starlite was his own man on set highlight, “Strawberries.”

He convulsed, twirled, and danced with the energy of a crackhead in ecstasy, and the crowd gave it right back – screaming and going wild for his moves. Although his show definitely deserves a bigger setup (more lights, band members, dancers), the performance was summed up perfectly when he uttered, “I don’t care anymore,” before taking off his coat, dancing some more, and leaving the stage. The crowd was left calling for “Francis! Francis!,” but they wouldn’t have to wait long for La Roux to come on remind them why they came in the first place.

La Roux

Elly Jackson graciously ended her one-song encore by telling Tampa to “have a great Christmas,” but the obviously humbled 22-year-old clearly couldn’t tell that she had just given her sweaty dance floor devotees a very early holiday gift. Despite only being on stage for less than an hour, Jackson and her three-piece band effortlessly delivered an 11-song love fest that made it seem like dancing was a prerequisite for being able to watch the show from the Ritz’s checkered dance floor. Seen on ground level was a frat boy twirling his date in circles, fanboys dancing with each other, and enthusiastic teenagers dancing all by themselves. Someone even made a sign that read, “Cori loves La Roux,” and Jackson – who was also surprised that another fan gifted her with a ski jacket – commandeered the poster as the crowd bobbed it’s way through a bouncy take on “I’m Not Your Toy.”

She moves effortlessly onstage and watching the band slow it down for “Armour Love” showcased how having someone play live drums adds a much-needed human aesthetic to any kind of software-based performance. He may have been playing an electronic kit, but William Bowerman’s fills (combined with Mickey O’Brien’s backing vocals) gave an organic feel to a set that even featured a cover of The Rolling Stones’ “Under My Thumb.” The remake of the Aftermath cut found additional keyboard player Mikey Norris and the band giving the 44-year-old track a complete 80’s dance makeover that the Stones should seriously consider putting on a reissue, and the song’s title turned out to be very apropos.

Despite her small stature, the diminutive Jackson had complete control of the crowd and she ended the evening by leading the crowd through a sing-along of “In For the Kill.” The most impressive thing about Jackson and her success is that she still looked on in disbelief as the crowd shouted the words to “Bulletproof” during the encore. And while she whole-heartedly told the crowd she was “very, very, very sorry” for cancelling the show she had scheduled for August, it was clear nobody really remembered being the least bit disappointed at all.

La Roux Setlist:

01. Tigerlilly
02. Saviour
03. As If By Magic
04. I’m Not Your Toy
05. Armour Love
06. Quicksand
07. Growing Pains
08. Under My Thumb (Rolling Stones)
09. Colourless Color
10. In For the Kill
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11. Bulletproof

Photos by: Todd Fixler


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