Laurie Black took to the stage at Lucida presents Electroniq at The Dublin Castle, turning a quiet Friday night into a synth-fueled revolution.
She opened her set with ‘Content Warning’, an electro-punk track with a chorus of primal screaming.
“For the chorus I wrote AAHH – a scream into the void, a call to arms,”
she explained. The audience screams right along with her, and it’s cathartic as hell. “It feels really fucking good, the serotonin rush is great,” she adds, and she’s not wrong – the adrenaline is spiked from that very first track.
Laurie’s voice is an instrument in its own right. One moment she’s singing in sultry, melodic tones; the next she’s unleashing a feral scream. Her performance is synth-heavy, with a modular synth rig front and centre creating layers of distinct but cohesive textures. “I don’t think we ever see enough live fucking synth players and electronic musicians,” Laurie observes, and she’s completely right. “Axis” is one of the standout songs of the night, flowing between ethereal and danceable.
What really sets Laurie Black apart is her stage presence. She’s a one-woman electronic army up there. Between songs, she’s not afraid to go off on tangents – insightful commentary about music and life. “I’ve got so many rants in my show,” – one moment she’s joking about the absurdity of the world, the next she’s deadly serious, rallying us to take action. Her punk spirit shines through every time she speaks. At one point Laurie urges the crowd to keep supporting the underground scene: “Keep going to shows like this, fuck Ticketmaster, spend your money at grassroots venues.” The room erupts in agreement – this is what we came for. It’s a battle cry against the corporate bullshit that so often sidelines artists, and it feels like a personal call to each of us to help change the game.
By the end of the set, the audience is buzzing with energy and inspiration. Laurie Black just proved that a synth-wielding punk can transform a pub venue into a cosmic arena of sound. She gave us raw passion, big noise, and real talk, all in one go. Laurie’s performance was personal, political, and positively explosive – a scream into the void that became a call to arms for everyone in that room.