Tove Lo gave the most daring, R-rated, eyebrow-raising performance at Austin City Limits so far. Playing on Saturday night, right before headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers took the stage on the other side of the venue, the Swedish singer raised the already high temperature in Austin with a racy show that left no one indifferent. Not only did she roam the stage dancing provocatively while singing expletive-filled lyrics, she actually flashed her breasts for a solid few seconds. The immense crowd that had spilled way past the limits of the Barton Springs Stage cheered, roared, and applauded enthusiastically.
Tove Lo is one hell of a performer.
'Disco Tits'
The bare chest exposure was as literal as it gets. Tove Lo played her new single, "Disco Tits" taken from the upcoming album "Blue lips [lady wood phase II]." It means exactly what you think it does, as Tove Lo explains at the beginning of the music video for the song while being interviewed by a puppet. "I don't think you can't say that you know, kids could be watching," the puppet says in the music video. At Austin City Limits, kids were definitely watching, as the festival is very family-friendly and welcomes everyone, from toddlers to young kids, teenagers, and their grandparents. The song is openly sexual, following the singer's pattern for explicit lyrics about sex, drugs, alcohol and all things adult.
"Live right now, peakin' on top/So wild now, I'm high as f***," sang Tove Lo, getting everyone to dance non stop until the end of the concert. Suffice to say, people sitting in lawn chairs across the venue were probably not expecting such a racy show on Saturday night.
Interaction with fans
Tove Lo is Swedish and has a very European behavior towards sexuality – meaning, there is less outrage and more acceptance, especially when it comes to women's sexuality.
So when she roams her hands all over her body, it doesn't look cheap nor theatrical. Her constant interaction with fans at Austin City Limits looked real and candid, all the way up to the moment when she recognized a male fan who tattoed her name a few years back. "I remember you, we met in South By in 2015!" she screamed, recalling Austin's big fest South By Southwest.
She caught a t-shirt the fan had made for her and wore it all through the next song, after a brief halt due to technical difficulties.
Austin City Limits weekend one closes with Gorillaz, Portugal.The Man, and The Killers. The festival returns Oct. 13-15 with the same lineup.