Ellie Goulding strikes chords at sold-out show

Ellie Goulding, with Bag Raiders
The Wiltern
Aug. 11

Since her album “Lights” debuted at number one in the U.K., Ellie Goulding has performed at festivals across the U.S., appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and performed at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding reception. At a sold-out show at The Wiltern last Thursday night, Goulding strengthened her fan base by flawlessly performing songs from both the American and British releases of her album while remaining refreshingly shocked by her success.

Australian house duo Bag Raiders opened the show. DJs Chris Stracey and Jack Glass warmed up the crowd, mixing drum machines and synths with thunderous live drum solos. Stracey, dressed in a red plaid shirt and looking like a slightly furrier version of Real Madrid goalie Iker Casillas, handled most of the singing, raising his hands in the air and encouraging the crowd to dance harder. Lyrics were hard to pick out and the songs gradually blended together, but the band successfully set an energetic tone for the evening.

Goulding’s arrival on stage shortly afterwards was met with shrieks of delight from her fans. The singer ““ flanked by a bassist, keyboardist and drummer ““ alternated between singing and displaying her signature hip-thrusting dance moves with playing acoustic guitar and pounding out impressive drum solos.

Wrapped in a blue marching band jacket and black leather hot pants, she seemed nervous at first, pulling the thick, side-swept bangs of her bleach blond hair forward over her eyes during particularly emotional moments of her songs as if hiding from the enormous crowd.

During the folk-oriented “Guns and Horses,” she stepped back from the mic briefly only to have every lyric shouted back at her. Looking out at the audience with eyes wide, an incredulous grin crept across her face, revealing ““ more than words or gestures ““ her pure astonishment at what she was witnessing.

“Seriously, I cannot get over how many people are in this room with me,” she said with a gasp as the house lights panned across the frenzied crowd. “I’m shocked. You’re all really here for me?”

Goulding’s set ebbed and flowed, from quieter moments such as her cover of Elton John’s “Your Song,” to the show’s highlight: a seamless combination of the hard-hitting dance track “Salt Skin,” a sample of Kanye West’s “Power” and her album’s title track.

As the set continued, the adoration and enthusiasm of her fans galvanized Goulding, her stage presence growing with every song. During an encore performance of “Your Biggest Mistake,” she gamely matched the antics of two young men in the audience who had doffed their shirts and begun swinging them in the air by whipping her hair back and grimacing at the crowd while gyrating her hips back and forth.

The show finally came to a close with a raucous rendition of crowd favorite “Starry Eyed.” Letting out a final, long high note, Goulding bent her body back as far as it could go, her arms spread wide, embracing the thunderous roars of approval that radiated back at her.

At the end of the night, even those who were not fans of Goulding’s music walked away entertained by her endearing performance. Having witnessed a young artist explode in front of their eyes, it seemed likely that if Goulding can harness her success, she will become one of pop music’s next stars.