Ellie Goulding @ White River (IN)

Years and Years with Ellie Goulding, White River (Indiana) 

Photos and words by Kelly Fox

Years and Years

Ellie Goulding

Ellie Goulding and opener Years and Years welcomed a freezing crowd to their almost sold-out show at White River, creating an impressively packed lawn. With temperatures hovering in the high fourties all night, bringing the show outside may have been a bit premature, but did nothing to discourage fans as young as six years old to come out to see her. Despite a much shorter set than most expected, Goulding hit Indianapolis like she meant it.

One of the unique components of an Ellie Goulding concert is the wide range of attendees. There was a surprisingly large population of children under twelve, but twenty-somethings and even thirty-plusses were also well represented. The youngest and the oldest in the crowd were very much thankful that chairs were provided all over the lawn, but the middle largely ignored them when the main act came on. The chairs could have contributed to the collective cold chill among the audience by spacing everyone out, but most were glad to have them between acts to warm themselves up.

Openers Years and Years played a long, bouncy set, and it was clear some of the audience was there just to see them. These guys are certainly on their way up, and now Indianapolis can adopt the hipster mantra of “I saw them before they got big.” Lead vocalist Olly Alexander was dressed in layers for the cold, but it definitely didn’t stop him from dancing his heart out.

Armed with a simple but appealing stage setup, Goulding took the stage shortly after, and spared no energy in her performance. That girl can work a stage, and I have to question how she didn’t get dizzy from all her spinning around. If confidence is key, Ellie Goulding has definitely been promoted to key holder status. Similarly bundled up from the cold, she put her combat boots to work, although it was clear she was used to working a larger stage than that of White River. 

If the crowd was expecting a nice, bubblegum show, they were surprised with Ellie’s performance of “Figure 8.” Complete with leather, strobes, red lights, and guitar solos, the song treated us to a little taste of rock.

The most disappointing part of the evening was the shorter set. Ms. Goulding commented several times that she was freezing, and had difficulty playing guitar with numb fingers. After only playing for around an hour and ten minutes, Ellie ended the show what seemed like very early. She busted out a mellow, almost acoustic version of “Lights,” but most were under the impression she would revisit it to give it all the kick it deserves. She ended the show at around 9:30, however, with “Love Me Like You Do.”

Despite the evening ending early, Goulding’s set was powerful and enjoyable. The UK native has an amazing stage presence, and to be fair, the audience was shaking in their blankets as well. We can be sure of two things: Ellie will make it back to Indy (hopefully soon), and if it’s during the spring, she will be indoors.