Post No. 67 on stuffwhitepeoplelike.com states white people like standing still at concerts. Clearly, the people behind the Web site have never been to a Yelle show. Pronounced “yell,” the French pop star performed at the Henry Fonda Theater on Saturday as part of her “C’est l’Amérique!” tour and was joined by Passion Pit and Funeral Party.
Passion Pit opened the show to a mixed reaction. With pop-induced, energetic background music, the band’s lead vocals hurt them, and the audience, the most.
The singer’s high-pitched, Mickey Mouse voice bordered on painful and caused many faces in the crowd to cringe.
The intense light show also called for much squinting, which led me to believe the band’s set would’ve been more enjoyable had I been under the influence of something, which most people were.
Soon enough, Los Angeles’ own Funeral Party took the stage and brought with it a much different, but just as distinctive, singing style. The lead singer’s raspy voice was a pleasant change because, while it was rough, he had total control over his pitch, which is more than I can say for the helium enthusiast from earlier.
The roughness of his voice also created a cathartic feeling whenever he shouted into the microphone and was supported by an equally powerful group of musicians.
The excessive wait for Yelle to come on allowed her fans to make their way to the dance floor. It looked like Urban Outfitters threw up on 99 percent of the audience with no shortage of neon headbands or keffiyeh.
They screamed their beret-covered heads off when the curtain was finally raised.
The lights went out as Yelle and her two male bandmates entered the stage.
Donning a red, white and blue spandex suit that seemed like it was painted on her, Yelle looked chic as she put her American-Apparel-endorsing fans to shame. But for some reason, she dressed the boys up in shirts almost identical to those of Hot Dog on a Stick uniforms.
The leading lady couldn’t have looked any cooler. She rocked a French-born bob. Not to be inhibited by her tiny and delicate physique, her vigorous dance moves and ability to bring the house down displayed the lioness within that skin-tight suit.
Like most of the non-French-speaking crowd, I could only pick up the lyrics “Magic Johnson,” and it didn’t matter. Yelle’s ability to get everyone in the room to dance proved there was no language barrier.
After finishing her set and giving the audience a complete aerobic workout, Yelle was offstage a good three seconds before everyone started chanting her name for an encore.
Two minutes of chanting and one wardrobe change later, she was back, clad in a silver, sequined dress.
Her encore included a rock remix of her universally loved single “Je Veux Te Voir.” Yelle also inspired everyone to throw up their hands in the shape of hearts, representing the crowd’s love for her.
With the elegance and sexuality of Jessica Rabbit and the energy of all the Spice Girls combined, Yelle has a refreshing take on pop music, and America should be thrilled to have her.
““ Saba Mohtasham
E-mail Saba at smohtasham@media.ucla.edu.