Grimes @ The Olympia: She's a Star

Charged atmosphere, electrifying performance, shocking events, yada yada yada.
By now, you've probably heard that Grimes was electrocuted during her performance in Dublin's Olympia Theatre last night. From Hot Press' vantage point, it probably happened more than once, and it looked deeply unpleasant. It also had the effect of marring what would surely have been a candidate for gig of the year.
It's hard to know where to start in evaluating the show. To brush over the technical issues would be a bit silly - 'But apart from that Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?' and all that - but for the sheer quality of the opening salvo, as well as her gritty resolve in keeping going despite the gremlins, Claire Boucher deserves better than a review dwelling on cables, pedals and in-ear monitors.
Listening to Art Angels, the electro-pop masterpiece she released last year, there's more than a whiff of 'mad scientist' about the whole thing. From the Euro-trance of ‘Realiti’ to the nu-metal backbone of ‘SCREAM’, through the liberal deployment of rhythms and reverts throughout, the album is K-Pop chaos at its most majestic. 'Genesis', even though it's from previous record Visions, opened live proceedings with suitable fervour; energy levels were as high on stage as in the stalls, where her devoted fanbase were - to use the medical term - going apeshit.
The fantastic 'REALiTi' followed, and there was a palpable sense that the improbable transfer from studio to stage had been masterfully achieved. A cable beneath her keyboard set-up needed fixing, but who cared? Quick repair and on we go, right?
Far from striking a hermitic auteur pose, she giggled and chattered her way through the hold-ups, but there's no doubt that a spell had been broken. Any momentum built up by blistering versions of 'Flesh Without Blood' or 'SCREAM' was counter-acted by the interminable gaps and general dicking about while connections popped and fizzled through the PA. And that was even before she needed a second run at 'Butterfly' because of getting legitimately electrocuted during her first stab.
'Symphonia IX (My Wait Is U)' and 'World Princess Part II' were both aborted; the exceptional 'Oblivion', sandwiched between the two, was tarnished by the fear that something would fail there, too. Apologetic as the day is long, she pledged to unleash the best version of 'Kill v Maim' she can, and did so with aplomb. It might be the best pop song of the last five years - the last year for certain - and its frantic majesty proved enough to finish the night on a genuine high.
There's no shaking the feeling, though, that it could and should have been so much more. Our friends in the UK press were left thumbing thesauri to find the superlatives to describe her performances last week. If there's any justice, then she'll be back on these shores for a re-run version indeed.
Because then, we'll wager, Grimes might grab that Gig Of The Year title after all.