Ella Yelich-O’Connor, better known as Lorde, came to the Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh on September 18 for her Pure Heroine tour, and she did not disappoint.
The concert opened with Majical Cloudz, a two-man band from Canada. Their show was calm, with no theatrics. While enjoyable, both the crowd and I were ready for Lorde.
At the first sign of Lorde, the crowd was immediately on its feet. Lorde opened with “Glory and Gore”, which she kept simple, with just a single spotlight on her. The music was easy to hear and because the amphitheater was fairly small, the stage was easy to see.
After singing a number of her own less well-known songs and covering Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights”, Lorde finished with a spectacular finale that included bubbles and confetti. To finish, Lorde sang a combination of Royals, Team and World Alone. She came out in a red crop top, red pants and a red cape. The energetic finale was full of high paced strobe lights and plenty of fog.
Even though it had its fair share of special effects, this concert was fairly simple and calm compared to others that I have been to. Some people enjoy having lots of special effects, but I found the simplicity to be refreshing. It allowed me to focus on the music and not what the background dancers were doing.
My favorite thing about Lorde, aside from her music, is the way she dances. Many people find her dancing strange, but I find that it has a certain authenticity to it. There are no background dancers or singers — it’s just Lorde and her music. She moves with her music, as if she feels it. Lorde is not a manufactured pop star and that is what makes her so unique.
Overall, I found the concert to be enjoyable. The crowd was engaged and interested the entire time. However, the concert was only an hour and a half. The length of the concert left me with a feeling that there should be more, but it also made me want to go to another concert. If I had the chance to go again, I definitely would.
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