Lorde, the 19-year-old singer, songwriter from New Zealand, has been my favorite artist since I discovered her early work my freshmen year of high school. Lorde captured how haunting being a teen can be with the words she strung together in the songs off her album, Pure Heroine.
In 2017 Lorde broke her four-year silence by dropping her second studio album Melodrama. This album is much more electropop compared to the young artist's old releases. Following the release of the album, Lorde performed at summer music festivals across the United States and I was lucky enough to see her on the first day of Lollapalooza in Chicago.
All of my 16-year old dreams came to life–it was everything I imagined a Lorde concert to be. Her performance was haunting, moving and alive. I got to see her out of body dance moves while a thunderstorm soaked Grant Park. At one point during her show, she asked the crowd, "Are you ready to conjure some spirits Chicago!?" and it felt as though all of the city yelled in response. I was living my wildest dream, but it got cut short, the storm got too out of control and Chicago Police Department wanted everyone to leave the park. For days following the festival, I was deep into post-concert depression. I knew I had to see her again–and I did.
My friends surprised me with tickets to see her in Milwaukee Wisconsin for her Melodrama tour. The concert was March 1st at the BMO Harris Center in Milwaukee she had Run The Jewels and Tove Stryke as the opening acts. When it was Lorde's turn to perform the mood in the arena changed and the excitement was palpable.
Lorde's performance told a complex story of rising above heartbreak and being alive at age 19. The show was so much more than just singing and dancing, there was an element of theater to it that only she can pull off without it being cringe-y. There were three costume changes and each costume change created a different theme in the room helping add to the story she was creating. She opened with the haunting pop creation, "Homemade Dynamite" and got the energy in the room to where she needed it to be to start her story.
On stage, there was a screen that was split into strips and during some songs, images were projected onto the strips, but mostly the singer just used lighting to set the mood. I would be doing a disservice to the whole performance if I did not mention the backup dancers–they were phenomenal. Lorde would sing and they would act out the story–not so much interpreting it, but adding to it immensely. Not only did the singer utilize light and dancers she also used one prop. I saw this prop at Lollapalooza, but every time I see it I am still amazed. It is a giant clear box–about the size of a cargo box trains ship and the dancers and Lorde moved in and out of it during the performance. During certain songs, the box would lift off the ground and even tilt while the dancers were inside–it was breathtaking.
The feelings I got when falling in love with her music came back during the show and I was transported to a different time. I will never forget this concert and I definitely will be going to see her every time she tours. David Bowie was right about her when he said she is the future of music.
