LP

When she wasn’t impressing the crowd with her musical ability, Ward was channeling her inner “I Dream of Jeannie” spirit as she physically demonstrated the beats surging through her every move.

It would be easy to write off the incredible performance LP delivered to the high stakes of an audience that had been disappointed by the show’s postponement months prior, but the hoards of folks gathered that night provided evidence to the contrary.

With a songwriting career spanning over a decade, LP has written hits for stars such as Christina Aguilera and Rihanna — her songs featured anywhere from film to television. As an artist, she’s been lauded for her unique vocal talent and stylistic bridging of pop and rock and roll.

The free-spirited singer, who is coming to Oakland’s Fox Theater this Saturday, is now preparing for a five-month-long touring season — on top of wedding plans and the aftermath of dropping her record label, Weekday Records.

On Saturday night, The UC Theatre was transformed into the magical world of Hogwarts, candles hanging from its lofty ceilings and dementors with maws agape floating overhead. Even the notoriously sneaky golden snitch made an appearance. The golden snitch was Cole Becker, SWMRS lead singer.

Bad Bad Hats is a band that likes to pose as uptight but never actually takes itself too seriously. Though the musical execution lacked flourishes, the straightforward playing style befitted the power pop ballads.

There are very few times that the name of an album is truly indicative of the music inside. This is the unique case of Big Red Machine.

While the studio versions of the songs embody a laid-back indie rock vibe, the live versions sound like different songs entirely.

Eckert leans harshly upon a performative element that is simply not there. In this case, this missing link seems to be a plot.

Though bolstered by more than a few theatrics, LP advanced an overall cool and collected presence onstage, making the spectacle seemingly natural and easy.