Grimes

Claire Boucher - Grimes - bounds onstage, slight frame buried beneath a giant army jacket only to find that her equipment isn't plugged in.

Problem solved, the Montreal-based artist decides to "do the thing" before she plays any songs.

She presents a birthday cake to her friend Andy, who stumbles out of the crowd to accept it while being serenaded by the audience.

It's a suitably odd, slightly shambolic introduction to a set that judders from sparky electro-pop to deep-bass experimentation and post-shoegaze layering - from Get Into The Groove Madonna fronting La Roux to Elizabeth Fraser partying with Lykke Li.

Contorting her body as she cradles a mic against her shoulder while simultaneously reading instructions for her new equipment from a sheet of paper, it's not always easy to tell how much of the set is pre-programmed and how much is live.

But as Boucher loops vocals and kickstarts beats to thrilling effect on the likes of Vanessa and recent single Oblivion, it becomes a matter of irrelevancy.

Skipping and jumping behind her bank of equipment, there's a youthful exuberance to her performance and a sense of glee about the sounds she's producing.

For all the sense of impending chaos - forgotten lyrics and equipment shutting down - there's little doubt that she's fully in control of the situation, even as she jokes that "it's like the Titanic!"

If anything, it's this sense of controlled chaos and refusal to play by prescribed musical rules that lends this part-nightclub, part-gig set its charm.

Boucher's decision to take centre stage rather than hide behind a wall of projections also adds to its intimacy and ensures the material maintains its sense of joy.

Grimes is appearing at the Field Day festival in London on June 2. Details: www.fielddayfestivals.com