Dragonette returns to Starlight Lounge, has love for Waterloo

After pushing ahead the date of the Starlight show a full week to accommodate for upcoming Juno Award rehearsals, electro-pop trio Dragonette caught up with The Cord prior to their performance on Saturday night.

“Starlight is in the top three venues for us, in the world,” said bassist Dan Kurtz. “We’d pay them to let us play here. When we get too big, we’ll have to play a week-long show.”

After playing at Toronto’s The Hoxton for Canadian Music Week the previous night to over six hundred adoring fans, Dragonette was ecstatic to play a more intimate show at Starlight Lounge, during which front woman Martina Sorbara exclaimed to the crowd, “On any of our tours this stop has been the highlight.”

In regards to The Hoxton show, Kurtz mentioned how impactful playing in Toronto once again was, saying, “It’s a lot of fun. Last night I almost cried, when you hear a crowd singing along, chanting back the lyrics you wrote, it’s an amazing feeling.”

As they began their set with “Hello,” the audience immediately reacted to Sorbara’s undeniable stage presence. Her energy radiated throughout the venue, revealing that her tiny frame presents no apparent restrictions on her incredible vocal abilities.

As the set progressed, the crowd was treated to a performance of a new song, entitled, “The Right Woman,” which appears on Proud to be a Woman Vol.3, a collaboration between Dragonette and celebrated fashion designed Diane von Furstenburg in celebration of International Women’s Day. Proceeds from the release benefit Vital Voices, a charity dedicated to the empowerment of women worldwide.

Dragonette also played “Let it Go,” a single off their upcoming album, which has been eagerly awaited by fans of the band.

By mid-set, the reverberations of the bands rich sound could be felt through the soles of the shoes of audience members and the Starlight floor was visibly shaking. This did not subside as the band played the hit “Fire in Your New Shoes,” featuring Kaskade. The crowd favorite was undeniably, “I Get Around,” from their 2007 debut Galore.

Currently based out of London, UK, Kurtz explained that the move was for no reason other than opportunity. “We were originally going to move to Italy, but I don’t speak any Italian.”

Kurtz gave the unexpected answer of George Michaels when asked about a dream collaboration, advising, “You guys should follow him on Twitter. He’s got some hilarious tweets.”

Kurtz went on to encourage an effort to get the collaboration trending, in hopes of what would promise to be an eclectic fusion of styles between Dragonette and the legendary singer/songwriter.

Though the promise of the George Michael collaboration may be a stretch,
Dragonette has big things in their future, as they are set to perform at the upcoming Juno Awards and Coachella, California’s premier music festival.