On September 17th, Lorde kicked off her highly anticipated Ultrasound World Tour in Austin, Texas’ Moody Center to a dynamic and lively sold-out crowd. A little over two weeks later, the show made its way over to the world’s most famous arena in the heart of New York City, notably the singer’s first time headlining and selling out the Garden, in which I was fortunate enough to be in the audience for.
Whether you are a casual listener or a hardcore stan, the Ultrasound setlist is truly catered towards everyone. It highlights the 11 songs that make up Virgin, the singer’s newest album released this past summer, which the tour is focused around, while also hitting on her three previous albums. Lorde shocked fans by including deep cuts, such as “No Better,” a song she stated as being “physically impossible to sing,” at her show this past Wednesday, as well as recently adding “A World Alone” from her debut album to the setlist.
Now to the show itself, Chanel Beads and Japanese House kicked off the night in Madison Square Garden, with other openers throughout the tour rotating between Blood Orange, Nilüfer Yanya, Empress Of, Jim-E Stack, and Oklou. The energy of the packed crowd was through the roof once Lorde took the stage. It was hard to look around in the crowd and find someone not dancing, screaming, crying, or all of the above. For someone like me who essentially grew up on Lorde after her 2013 hit song “Royals” was inescapable, it was such a surreal experience to hear so many of the songs that I have been listening to for years and that got me through challenging times in my life. Being able to share that emotion with thousands of other fans was quite a cathartic feeling, something that was evident in the crowd’s energy during “Green Light.”
Other highlights of the night include the performance of the song “Team,” during which the stage lights switched to project the colors of the Palestine flag, just one of the ways the singer has consistently shown her support towards the country. As well as during “David,” when she had TikToker Anthony Haynes, best known for his videos of the viral “train trend,” which usually feature Lorde tracks, join her as she walked through the crowd, eventually leading to the last songs performed of the night: “A World Alone” and “Ribs.”
All in all, this tour is a spectacle of the world of Virgin and all things Lorde.
An incredible amount of raw emotion and talent went into creating the songs performed and the show as a whole. The love and appreciation Lorde holds for her fans is something that does not go unnoticed during the concert. Multiple times throughout the night, she expressed her gratitude towards her fans for supporting her through all the years and showing out for her, saying that “this is special, this is different,” in reference to the bond she shares with everyone in the audience. The technical production of the show was also of the highest excellence. There was such variety in the visuals from song to song that added another layer of depth to the performance. I cannot urge enough that if you have the opportunity to attend the Ultrasound tour, take it. This is a concert you don’t want to miss.