AND just had a critically-acclaimed performance at a MASSIVE festival, something that Lana doesn't have!
""There's magic in the air, Chicago" said Lorde late in her set Friday afternoon at Lollapalooza. And over the course of about fifty minutes in Grant Park, it was the unquestionable truth.
And as great as the music sounded Friday evening at Lollapalooza, the most poignant, moving moment of the set actually came as Lorde walked to the front of the stage and took a seat, taking note of her surroundings before delivering one of the more humble, impassioned, sincere speeches to a crowd that I think I've ever seen on a concert stage.
"I'm at such a loss for words. That doesn't happen to me much... It just blows my mind when I play a festival like this that everybody comes together and enjoys music. It's just so cool and I'm really grateful."
Lorde has experienced the type of rare, all-encompassing, worldwide success that has derailed many a seventeen year old star. But she seems to be handling it with incredible grace, providing a powerfully positive message in the process. "I wrote this song about growing up and it means a lot to me. I'm really grateful we get to share that" said Lorde of "Ribs."
And while the collective fan response to "Royals" and "Team" back to back to close the main set was an incredible thing to behold, twenty-four hours later, I remain equally awed by the response to Lorde's between song banter - of which there was a lot. Nobody was staring at cell phones and nobody was leaving for another beer. For approximately fifty minutes Friday night, Lorde had the crowd eating out of her hand, hanging on her every word in a way I didn't think was possible in the live concert setting anymore. My goal was to leave the set about midway through to check out as many different artists as I could - but it was physically impossible. Nobody was going anywhere. That just doesn't happen at a festival.
Lorde's set Friday night at Lollapalooza, and the communal experience it provided, is truly a rare concert event. Everyone was in it together. I'm not sure it would've worked as well at a venue like the Aragon. And I'm not even sure it will work again in a few years at the same festival: It captured a unique moment in time and music and reinstilled my faith in the festival experience."
""There's magic in the air, Chicago" said Lorde late in her set Friday afternoon at Lollapalooza. And over the course of about fifty minutes in Grant Park, it was the unquestionable truth.
And as great as the music sounded Friday evening at Lollapalooza, the most poignant, moving moment of the set actually came as Lorde walked to the front of the stage and took a seat, taking note of her surroundings before delivering one of the more humble, impassioned, sincere speeches to a crowd that I think I've ever seen on a concert stage.
"I'm at such a loss for words. That doesn't happen to me much... It just blows my mind when I play a festival like this that everybody comes together and enjoys music. It's just so cool and I'm really grateful."
Lorde has experienced the type of rare, all-encompassing, worldwide success that has derailed many a seventeen year old star. But she seems to be handling it with incredible grace, providing a powerfully positive message in the process. "I wrote this song about growing up and it means a lot to me. I'm really grateful we get to share that" said Lorde of "Ribs."
And while the collective fan response to "Royals" and "Team" back to back to close the main set was an incredible thing to behold, twenty-four hours later, I remain equally awed by the response to Lorde's between song banter - of which there was a lot. Nobody was staring at cell phones and nobody was leaving for another beer. For approximately fifty minutes Friday night, Lorde had the crowd eating out of her hand, hanging on her every word in a way I didn't think was possible in the live concert setting anymore. My goal was to leave the set about midway through to check out as many different artists as I could - but it was physically impossible. Nobody was going anywhere. That just doesn't happen at a festival.
Lorde's set Friday night at Lollapalooza, and the communal experience it provided, is truly a rare concert event. Everyone was in it together. I'm not sure it would've worked as well at a venue like the Aragon. And I'm not even sure it will work again in a few years at the same festival: It captured a unique moment in time and music and reinstilled my faith in the festival experience."
And THIS is why she was honored with such a high-profile gig like curating the Mockingjay soundtrack as well as winning Grammys and such! And even finding single success!!
And THIS is why she was honored with such a high-profile gig like curating the Mockingjay soundtrack as well as winning Grammys and such! And even finding single success!!
"As a stage performer you exude confidence in front of the crowd, but considering she may have had the highest attended show of the weekend, her poise that is rare. She also doesn't need to tease her audience with flesh; she does it with her mind. By the time she performed the album opener (and current single) "Tennis Court", the crowd was in the palm of her hand.
The crowd knows ever lyric and nuanced vocal but it's more than that- they feel like they live it. I can't imagine another artist over these three nights that the audience has clutched onto. Artists often distance themselves from their early material as they evolve and mature. They often come into their own and really learn the craft of making music. Whatever path Lorde heads down, I will follow her but she should never look back on this period because she is as invigorating of a performer as we have in 2014.
Lorde was accompanied by only two auxiliary musicians, a drummer and keyboardist who add color to her lyrics with vitalizing arrangements. She sincerely appeared speechless by the size of the crowd that turned up for her. This was the type of performer I walk through the door of my house and tell my wife about. It electrifies me that artists like Lorde exist. She sold out the Aragon Ballroom this past winter, but this type of performance could only have taken place at Lollapalooza. This is the essence and elation of a festival performance. She possibly played to more people than anyone who played Soldier Field in the last few years. "Ribs", "Royals" and "Team" took the audience over-the-top, as they latched onto the songs and gave back unfiltered enthusiasm. By the end of "Team" and the start of album and set closer "A World Alone", the crowd had officially lost their mind. Lorde's hour long performance would be the one everyone else would try and live up to for the remainder of the weekend."
