ILUKA celebrates birthday with intimate show in St. Louis

The Duck Room is the kind of venue where there isn’t much distance between the artist and the crowd, and that worked especially well for ILUKA’s St. Louis stop on August 27th. Kitty Coen and VANITY opened the night before ILUKA took the stage as part of her Wings Tour. By then, the small room underneath Blueberry Hill had filled in nicely, giving the show a much more personal feel than you get in a larger venue.

ILUKA’s voice is easily the thing that stands out first.

It’s powerful without feeling overly polished and, live, it gives her songs a little more weight. ILUKA is an Australian singer-songwriter, now based in Los Angeles, with a sound that pulls from rock, folk, and soul.

Much of the set came from her newer material, including songs like “Crucify Me”, “Girl on the Run”, “American Beauty”, “Woman Gone Mad”, and “Wings”. The music moved between quieter moments and bigger rock songs without the show ever feeling like it needed a lot of production behind it.

That was probably the best part of seeing her in a room like the Duck Room… there weren’t many places for the performance to hide. ILUKA had to carry the show with the songs, her voice, and some drums — and she did. This night felt like catching an artist in a venue that may be a little too small the next time she comes through St. Louis. Plus, it turned out to be her birthday show, with a blowing out candles moment onstage and everything! Three cheers for the birthday girl!

Photography by Sean Rider

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