When I got tickets to see Lorde for my birthday in January, I immediately started counting down the days until April 8. Ella Yelich-O’Connor, better known as Lorde, released “Melodrama” and, in my opinion, it was the best album of 2017, so I couldn’t wait to see it live.
After hearing that people were camping out the night before, I decided to get to the venue early–at 9 a.m. There were already about 40 people in line, and I quickly made friends with the people around me. Conversations about pop culture and our favorite Lorde songs quickly ensued.
After a long day of waiting, it was finally 6 p.m. and time for the doors to open. We quickly moved through the security line but soon realized that the whole line we’d been waiting in all day had gone to waste. To get into the actual performance space there are three sets of doors, and they were all closed. Because of this, there were about 100 people anxiously waiting to get into the venue. At 6:30 p.m. they opened one door and it was like the Hunger Games: everyone was pushing to get through and I ran faster than I ever have to get to the front. I found out later that a girl actually broke her wrist trying to get to the stage. All my waiting paid off; I got a spot in 2nd row in the very center, a perfect view.
The first opening act was Mitski, who played her electric bass and played some cute songs. The second opening act was Run the Jewels, a rap duo consisting of El-P and Killer Mike. They were pretty good, but I don’t think that a Lorde crowd was their target audience.
Then it was finally time for Lorde. As the first few parts of “Sober” started, I could feel my heart race. For the first part of the song we couldn’t really see her. But with the line in the middle of the song, when the music stops, and she sings “Jack and Jill get f***ed up and possessive when it get dark,” we could finally see her, and the crowd went wild. I couldn’t believe how close I was!
Both Run the Jewels and Lorde remarked on how this was the only “club” show of the entire tour. All the other shows were played in arenas, but this performance was the only GA concert on the entire tour. You could tell that Lorde was feeding off of the intense energy the crowd was giving her.
My favorite songs she performed would have to be “Ribs” and “Green Light.” “Ribs” was remixed from its original version and the backup dancers really added to the performance. However, “Green Light” really takes the cake. She described the song as “the most melodrama thing to happen on ‘Melodrama’”. With the final “I’m waiting for it, that green light, I want it,” star-shaped confetti erupted with lyrics written in her handwriting. The whole venue was jumping and screaming and it was one of the most freeing moments I’ve ever experienced.
The thing that really made this concert memorable is that you could tell Lorde wanted to be there. With every song, every lyric, every beat she gave it her all. That energy is unexplainable, and it makes you feel like it’s only you and her in the room. This show was one of the best I’ve ever been to, and if you ever have the chance to see Lorde live–you should.
PHOTO COURTESY OF ADELAIDE KAISER
