Grimes makes very interesting music. Live? It’s obviously still a challenge. This is DJ territory, with little of the on stage theatrics many of those can afford. I suspect she lip-synched a fair portion of the show, as there was a very notable difference in the vocals at times. The crowd reacted to her fairly simple push-button beats. Grimes is a compelling talent, but outside of her current indie flavor of the month appeal, she hasn’t yet created a strong live presence. If the ticket had been a bit more expensive, I’d have felt cheated a bit.

I think it’s an interesting discussion, this new live frontier. Increasingly the club and small venue circuit is being populated with one or two person laptop jockeys. How do you make a compelling show out of that? What I saw in Birmingham was happy drunks hopping around to a beat. Pressing down a key on a synth in your local guitar center might produce a similar effect with enough available liquor. I think Grimes is going to have to up her game if she continues to tour, because the it factor will wear off.