Swedish indie darling Lykke Li capped off an impressive performance at L.A.’s El Rey Theatre on Monday night with a completely unexpected encore: a cover of A Tribe Called Quest’s “Can I Kick It?”

It started with a vaguely familiar “Doo, doo doo, doo doo,” but it wasn’t until she broke into the opening lyrics that I realized, “Holy sh–, she’s doing Tribe!” And even though she’s been schooled in Swedish pop, don’t let her credentials fool you — this girl can flow. Li balanced her sugary sweet “doo’s” of the chorus with powerful delivery of the verses, on par with an MC Lyte or Salt n Pepa.

That balance held true for the rest of the night. Li spent the evening shifting between her high energy songs and softer ballads. It was an almost every-other-song transition between the two energies, and she played it well.

Right off the bat, the upbeat “Dance, Dance, Dance” was accented by Li’s percussionist, who took his sticks directly to the scaffolding on stage left. Combine that with the singer’s animated dance moves and you’ve got a pretty amazing spectacle. Then for the next song, Li slowed things down, but still maintained an intensity on her face.

That’s what makes a good Lykke Li show — it’s her connection with the audience and her music. I had the pleasure of seeing her at a much tinier venue a few months back, and while I enjoyed the intimacy of a smaller show, the El Rey really allowed Lykke Li to shine. She’s meant for a larger stage, giving her the chance to move around, dance, and connect with more fans.

At one point, on “Breaking It Up,” Li got the crowd to clap in sync with her band, and when the band muted their instruments, the crowd veered off beat. She playfully teased, “Have you no rhythm?” before picking up a megaphone and breaking into the chorus, with her band resuming the music. It made for one of the most energetic songs of the night, and the crowd was ecstatic.

I’m anxious to see what she can do on an even larger stage and higher production budget. I think the visuals would be impressive and the possibilities are endless. Hell, maybe she’ll even break out a cover of Biggie’s “Juicy” — she’s got the pipes.

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