Lorde officially ends "Pure Heroine" era in her hometown
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Towards the end of last night's show – the final on Lorde's tour around the world – she asks everyone in the crowd to thank her crew. "CAN YOU CHEER FOR THESE PEOPLE!" she yelled. And yell they did.
It was deafening. Lorde requests the same thing for her band mates Ben Barter and Jimmy Mac – there by her side through this whole crazy, utterly ridiculous ride – and the crowd screams again. It's a testament to her character that speaks volumes. For someone who’s achieved so much, she's thankful to those who have been there along the way.
Lorde's final show of the tour was always going to be good. Her prior gigs up New Zealand – Dunedin, Christchurch and Wellington – had all had glowing reviews. She was front page news on the road trip that was Lorde, and it ended where every road trip ends: home.
Images of her life flash on giant screens - that tunnel out to Devonport, a rugby field and a jetty near her house. During the penultimate moment of 'Royals', photos of two of her school-friends adorn the giant screens. Those faces are in the crowd, too. They're here to see their mate do a gig. Like the talent quest, but bigger.
Moments like this are a reminder of the wonderful pool of musical talent that emerge from this crazy little country called New Zealand.
The whole show is unrelenting. "We don't do this song all the time," she hints. "It's... cinematic." That's right – this is the woman who got hired to write the end-credits song of the next Hunger Games film, and ended up curating the entire soundtrack. 'Yellow Flicker' beat – beginning with those unsettling hums – is a highlight of the night.
At some point a New Zealand flag is flung on stage and Lorde waves it around. Changing that flag seems too stupid: It looks great up there. Then she launches into 'Team', an extended section added towards the end that swells and size and volume. A song that is already huge becomes even bigger.
"I adore you and I’ll see you around," she tells us.
Lorde feels like she's melting into every moment, and as the final drone of 'World Alone' beings, she surveys the crowd. As is often the case with this New Zealander, she feels like she's hyper-aware of what's happening around her at every moment. "This is the last minute we perform on this tour. I feel like I am going to cry a little bit."
In the swarm of bodies at Vector are her friends, teachers, family – and strangers – who have all been united by this kid from Takapuna. Kid is an unfair word – she's clearly much more than that – but she's a kid in her energy and utter knowledge that she can do anything.
Mostly endearingly, somewhat mysteriously - partially just plain awkward, swaying through her set from behind a sheet of hair, eyes down, banter at a minimum.
Last night, she was an entirely different person.
Walking tall, exuding confidence and grinning uncontrollably - no longer the 16-year-old who tried so hard to keep a straight face the first time around.
It is evident this world tour has changed her.
The set opened with Glory and Gore, her lower register seeming to have extended even further than before, allowing an impressive tone which reappeared in White Teeth Teens boasting Gwen Stefani-like crescendos on the choruses.
Her vocals were impressive the whole way through, either exactly on point or diverging from recorded versions to create new melodies, and at times abandoning it all entirely and just yelling the lyrics.
Those might have been the best parts, the parts where finally, Lorde was just Ella - a 17-year-old, whose dreams came true. She enjoyed herself more and it shone through in her performance.
That was when it became clear just how big Lorde has become.
This was a legitimate arena tour. Red swathes of fabric filled background, a chandelier descended from the ceiling, she took her place centre stage with a flowing red cape and gold crown and Royals exploded throughout the arena, kicking off something of a greatest hits section.
"This is it," she said, "the last minute of this tour... I might cry a little bit... are you ready?"
It was clear emotions were high for this superstar finishing her world tour where she started, with the same fans she started with.
It was clear just how much it all meant to her, how much she cherished it and how far she had come.
She thanked the audience profusely, said goodbye in advance - because even after a sell out world tour, she still doesn't do encores - and she closed out the song with rasping, "Let 'em talk".
When it was all said and done, all I could think was; if that was how far she had come in only a year since breaking out, just imagine what's coming next.
looks like fun
