Soundbite: LIGHTS

LIGHTS’ techno-pop extravaganza is not exactly the event I would expect to attract loads of teenage hipsters wearing headbands over their eyebrows and oversized plaid shirts. Yet her show at the Troubadour on Nov. 3 drew in that type of crowd.

Before LIGHTS took the stage with her million keyboards (OK, five or so), the band Stars of Track and Field opened up to a sold-out venue. The indie-rock band featured two guitarists who both covered vocals, a drummer and a well-used MacBook.They entered the stage amid a roar of distortion that I suppose was meant to be cool, but should probably be reserved for bands who match that intensity with their music. While the guitars and drums changed up the rhythms for each song, the vocals kept within a power-ballad feel, the heavy reverb on the mics adding to the 1980s-sounding groove.

In one of their songs, guitarist Jason Bell started ripping what looked like an awesome solo. Unfortunately, the only sound coming through the amp was a strange sort of gurgling. Whether that was due to technical difficulties or the skill of Bell was unclear, and he attempted no further shreds of the sort. He did, however, end their set with a jump off his amplifier that nearly resulted with him falling off the stage.

After a brief pause during which the stage was set up for LIGHTS, her drummer and jive-master ““ the guy manning all the technological equipment and keyboards ““ came on stage and set up a techno beat reminiscent of Cascada. LIGHTS followed them shortly and took her place behind a keyboard and microphone. They launched right into the first song, which sounded like it could have come straight from the dance scene of “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion,” adding to the ’80s feel of the whole show.

LIGHTS’ voice is exceptionally young sounding, and not in a negative way. She sings in a range that would be comfortable for an alto, but because of the girlyness of her voice, sounds much higher. Despite the youth in her voice and the airiness of the beats backing her, LIGHTS could belt like a Broadway star, minus the vibrato. Her voice is so clear it sounds like it has to be technologically enhanced, yet her speaking voice had that same robotic texture.

Techno can often sound the same from song to song, but she kept things fresh by adding in spacey sound effects and interesting keyboard riffs. Because of the sheer amount of equipment on stage, it was hard to tell what sounds had already been recorded and what sounds were being produced on the spot. Some backgrounds were obviously preset, as LIGHTS’ own voice would magically begin to sing harmonization.The audience seemed to spend more time trying to make the scene cool than LIGHTS did. She fully embraced the nerdy aspects of her music-making by talking about a video game that inspired her song “Lions!” and even picked up ““ wait for it ““ a keytar. Her happiness was contagious, and the earnest smile she donned when talking to the audience reflected her enthusiasm with headlining at the Troubadour for her first time.

‘LIGHTS’ live performance was far more entertaining than simply listening to her album, “The Listening,” and the majority of that came from her own energy. The scene was not the rave-like set normally expected to go with techno-pop, but the excitement was up to that level nonetheless.