On March 8th in Vancouver B.C., my friend and I attended Lorde’s concert at Rogers Arena. After a spontaneous decision glancing upon Ticketmaster during class, we decided, “let’s go to Lorde!” A few clicks later and we were officially going!
The day arrives and it is pouring rain. My friend and I run from the Skytrain station to the venue just for merch. If you go to concerts often, you KNOW the struggle of merch lines. I got the ‘Supercut’ yellow t-shirt (my favourite song on the album!) and my friend got a long white sleeve t-shirt about ‘The Louvre.’
We arrive in our seats that were originally assigned somewhere else and got moved closer to the front (shout out to Ticketmaster???).
Opening for Lorde was Tove Styrke and Run the Jewels.
Tove Styrke had a similar vibe to Lorde and is from Sweden. She sang some of her original songs and a techno cover of ‘Liability’. I did not know any of her songs going in and left a fan! She wore these cool white pants that turned neon green under a blacklight. I love her voice and highly recommend listening to a few of her songs.
The surprise of the night definitely goes to Run the Jewels. All of a sudden, a DJ and 2 rappers come on stage and start performing this hip-hop set. I was intrigued! I did not know them before either but left a fan. One of them said a really sweet shout out to all the women for International Women’s Day. #RTJ.
Overall, both the openers are so immensely talented and I cannot wait to see where they go from here.
Now, the moment we have been waiting for, Lorde graces us with her presence on stage.
Lorde put on one of the best shows I have ever seen. The visuals, the outfits, the dancing, everything was so… Lorde. She is so young and has accomplished so much. I was truly in awe watching her perform. I could not believe she was really in front of me.
Her interaction with the crowd was so different from past artists I have seen. She really interacted with us and told us how it has been so long since she has been here. She found it so “magical” how there was ice beneath us. She also tried to get us to talk about any crushes or lovers in our life. She mentioned how a Vancouver flight attendant was the first person to ever recognize her when she was starting out. I loved how interactive and caring she was towards us.
Her speech before ‘Writer In The Dark’, ‘Solo’, and ‘Hard Feelings’ were so personal and well put together that everyone could relate in some way.
It is so heartwarming when you can tell an artist is truly grateful for their fans and for everyone coming out to their show. Lorde is one of them.
Her performance of ‘The Louvre’ was so mesmerizing and flawless. She was being carried around the stage and dancing in a beautiful soft pink gown.
‘Yellow Flicker Beat’ and ‘Perfect Places’ brought a new vibe to the set and truly had the crowd involved.
Her performance of ‘Royals’ was so nostalgic. ‘Liability’ was as magical as you would expect. All of her songs sound exactly like her live and this song really struck a chord with everyone around me.
My favourite performances were ‘Supercut’ and ‘Ribs’. Those songs have such a special meaning in my life that hearing them live is something I will hold close to my heart forever.
I have never felt more alive than I did when she performed ‘Green Light.’ She closed with this song and I totally forgot about where this song was in the set. When she performed it the arena could not stop jumping and truly lived in the moment.
Lorde was someone who I knew would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see. Her talent is like no other and her past two albums have impacted my life in ways I cannot thank her enough for. She is so young and it is wild to think her hit Grammy-winning song ‘Royals’ was released when she was 16. Her songwriting feels like art being expressed through my ears and I knew I needed to see her the minute she announced her Melodrama World Tour. She murdered that stage.
Thank you, Lorde, for allowing me to be in your presence and singing the soundtrack to my last year being a teenager right in front of me. Lorde truly is one of a kind, and I hope she continues sharing her art and talent for as long as she allows.
If you ever have the chance, Lorde puts on a show like no other and I highly recommend you experience her live!
(Psst… ‘Melodrama’ should have won ‘Album of the Year’ at the Grammy’s… just saying).