Authors: Allison Hartwig and Hannah Goldberg
St. Lucia brought the energy to stage on Thursday at the Barrymore Theatre, bringing old favorites and new music of their newly released album, Hyperion. Jean-Phillip Grobler and Patti Beranek did not hold back their dancing feet as they took every opportunity to get the crowd jumping and Grobler even took the leap of faith onto our unsuspecting, waving arms during the show.
St. Lucia started the night with a smooth synth introduction into “September” off their debut album When the Night (2013). Patti introduced some refreshing, live sounds of the cabasa, vibraslap, and chimes to hype up the crowd with support from the drums, synth and of course Grobler's vocals. With the audience smoothly grooving, St. Lucia hit a few songs off of their new album, while throwing in some old favorites with “Closer Than This” and “All Eyes on You”.
Towards the middle of the show, the performances slowed down and became much more emotional, as the married couple, Jean-Philip Grobler and Patti Beranek, both took an intimate moment together on stage to sing an acoustic version of “Next to You” off of their 2018 album, Hyperion. Grobler also came out into the crowd for an intimate version of “Love Somebody” off of their 2016 album, Matter, making the already small space feel even more special.
Other notable performances off of Hyperion included “China Shop,” “Bigger,” “Walking Away,” “Gun,” “A Brighter Love,” and “Paradise is Waiting.” Grobler took the time to address the audience about approaching the bleak-looking future with optimism. He talked about how he and Patti are “happy, go-lucky” type people, so they hope their music can be fun and heartening while hitting at the deeper issues through lyrics. He told the audience that even though there is a lot to be upset about in the world today, we have to take each day to celebrate the positive aspects in our lives.
The show concluded with even more jams and love including songs off of their previous two albums, and finishing with an encore performance of “Elevate”, their first and still most popular song off of their debut album, When the Night. St. Lucia brought a refreshing attitude to their live performance with an emphasis on spreading happiness and joy while being aware of the issues of our world. They brought an amazing show to Madison, and will hopefully come back soon with even more exciting music.
