Concert Review: Lorde with PHOTOS
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Photos by David Watson
By Eve Cheesmur
Artist: Lorde
Date / Venue: Tuesday November 14th, 2017 - The Powerstation, Auckland
Hanging out near the back of the Powerstation (but who cares, it’s still the Powerstation) the sound was as per usual; perfection. Dynamite welcomed us in to Lorde’s throaty, timbre, tones and it seemed she welcomed the venue change as much as we did.
Donning a looming, floating, ethereal chiffon skirt to match her voice, Lorde took to the stage and held us in the palm of her had for her sold out Melodrama World Tour showcasing the latest album release. Gritty, honest, raw and in contrast to her ripe age of 20, Lorde’s lyrics were relatable to the crowd which varied in age from tweens to near 50 year olds and had us chiming along for the good part of the two-hour show.
Tracks from the Melodrama album undulate between melodic piano ballads such as Liability and Reprise, to top pop pit sweat inducing bangers like Green Light. With the album being the underscore to 2017 for not only myself, but clearly the majority of her fans at the Powerstation, it was a coin toss to see which genre Lorde’s performance would pay homage to. Trusty pop came up heads, and although it would have been interesting to see more of quirkiness and personality in her performance, we were sated with her powerful stage presence and perfect tone in which she delivered.
The performance overall was one which held a juvenile energy to it, arms flailing and plenty of jumping around – however, it was this humble and earnest adaptation that makes us adore Lorde. There was nothing self-effacing about her performance, but she did allow us to let the pretentiousness drop and be kids again, abandoning the pop mentality of perfection on stage.
She dusted off a few favourites from the past Pure Heroine album like Tennis Court, and Royals and we loved the nostalgia, but were not disappointed when she returned to the poetic melodies from the Melodrama album.
Predominantly underwhelmed with a live performance vs listening to the album on a balcony with friends, or belting it out on a road trip, Lorde was Melodramatic live and completely blew us away. It was faultless track after faultless track held in perfect intimacy. Wistful, engaging and whimsical, the show was one which has set a benchmark for live performances to date.
My feet are still sore from Lorde broadcasting her boom-boom-boom and making us all dance to it - Melodrama world tour was an unforgettable show that left us enamored with kiwi legend, Lorde.