As the temperature quickly dropped, Austinites packed in together at Stubb's to see CSS and Ladytron heat up the chilly fall night. Openers CSS came out guns blazing and hips shaking, tearing through a 45 minute set with more vigor than one of their native Brazil's ferocious piranhas. Lead singer Lovefoxx, a bundle of kinetics and hand drawn whiskers, let the crowd know it as she repeatedly dove into the audience, who were more than happy to oblige. Despite the sincerity of passion, energy and excitement they brought to their live set, it still fell victim to the pitfalls of their debut album: too much filler and not enough substance. Saving the best for last, they went out with the double bang of "Music is My Hot Hot Sex" and "Let's Make Love and Listen to Death from Above," both filled with equal measures of off-sync rhythm and infectious enthusiasm.

Following the high octane performance of CSS' new wave was the tighter sound but markedly stiffer electro performance of Ladytron, who skipped the wild dancing in favor of manning the many keyboards on stage. Obviously no strangers to stylistic affectations (the whole band was dressed in head-to-toe black), the whole set would be dominated by subdued red and black lighting. Unfortunately, it was also to be marred by continuous sound glitches, as Helen's mic repeatedly faded in and out and her bandmates requested constant adjustments. For most acts, this continuous stream of interruptions might have broken the natural flow, but Ladytron managed an evenly-paced performance that made up for what it lacked in energy with stronger and more consistent musicianship. Overwhelmingly supportive, the crowd won over Ms. Marnie, even prompting her to break out a video camera during the encore to capture the crowd's reaction. Songs like "International Dateline" and "All the Way" were infused with their signature electro atmosphere, keeping the audience captivated until the hour-and-a-half-long love affair ended with the appropriately intense "Destroy Everything You Touch."

Photos by Eric Uhlir

Helen Marnie, lead singer of Ladytron, treated the crowd to an hour and a half set.

Ladytron's bassist

Arroyo, second vox for Ladytron

Ladytron played to an enthusiastic Austin audience

Lovefoxx leads her band through a high-energy set

CSS playing to an appreciative Austin crowd