Being in the presence of Michele Wylen onstage is to witness greatness in its formative stage.To have become great in such a short period of time–this was the 19-year-old’s seventh show–is a startling thing, and one that Wylen herself is still charmingly unaware of. After a series of strong live performances (including opening for Ladytron at Berbati’s for her second show this past October) Wylen’s appearance at the Someday Lounge last Friday was undoubtedly her most disappointing.

“This is the song where people usually dance drunkenly onstage, ” she said at an interval, referring to her Tonic Lounge show with Dakota Slim two days earlier. An audience of about twenty-five people either watched bashfully from the shadows or talked incessantly. And she noticed when five people left, an upsetting event for the young singer/keyboardist whose electro-beats and pop hooks could drive an old man with a walker to get down. However, only a few audience members actually did get down at Someday’s St. Vitus Dance night, a weekly event hosted at the club since its “official” opening last September.

While veteran musicians of the Portland bar scene would have called Friday’s turnout a decent crowd to play to, Wylen was understandably disappointed, as those destined for greatness often are.

There were a few false starts and some uncomfortably long pauses at times, but for an “off-night,” Wylen was still amazing. About half the songs making up her set were new since her Berbati’s show, about half from the electro-pop artist’s impressive demo EP–which includes a circus-y cover of “Toxic” by Britney Spears. Spears is a surprisingly accurate reference point in which to describe Wylen, at least in terms of addictive hooks, sweet-but-spiky vocals and lyrics, sex appeal and performance skills. But Wylen is never over the top, remaining reserved and hidden behind a tomboy-ish cap, at once shy and confident in both her dancing and the way she seems to be looking at everyone in the audience. This kind of self-presentation takes some, like Spears, years to perfect, yet Wylen seems to have a knack for it already.

She started out with two “older” songs, the complex dance (musically and lyrically) of “Cruel” and “Room For Two,” one of the most perfect pop tracks never to have graced FM radio…yet. The bass from Wylen’s huge Korg keyboard dominates the song’s bouncy rhythm while Wylen seductively sings about trying to seduce a boy: “Come right here/ There’s room for two.” New tracks like “Pretty Girl” and “Extraordinary” are more dark and droning, while maintaining Wylen’s young-but-not-immature themes of self-image, dating and teen politics, among others. These songs are more Suicide than Spears, but not enough to scare anyone away.

Another distinction between Wylen and your average pop princess is that she’s a self-started musician, composer and producer with an ear for really cool sounds. She changes her setting for every song live with a foot-pedal board, so she can choose between “John Lennon” delay, “church” reverb or even sing from a harmonica mike into a small amp for a “telephone” effect. Her beats and production sound like a less experimental Timbaland (of Missy Elliot and Justin Timberlake fame) honed to focus on the song rather than production tricks. The Someday’s normally stellar sound was a bit off that night, as well. Perhaps due to the smaller audience, Wylen’s powerful drums and bass keys were a little two padded, detracting from the overall impact. Still, this bright, young artist’s songs carried so much weight that bad sound couldn’t hold her down. And at this point, it seems nothing will.

Michele Wylen plays Thursday, Dec. 21, at Berbati’s with Mantis and Shepherds of Ontario. 9 pm. $6. 21+. Listen to Wylen’s “Loopy,” Local Cut’s Cut of the Day for Tuesday, Dec. 19th, here.

www.michelewylen.com
www.myspace.com/michelewylen
Photo: Wylen live at the Tonic Lounge, from the artist’s MySpace.