so I had a hectic weekend and didn't get around to it but I didn't wanna forget.mp3 to come thru with the review
I saw her twice on the last tour but this time felt like a different kind of experience. out with the dancers who didn't quite work, in with a live band. quite a minimal show with no costume changes (who needs them when you serve that hard with your one lewk?), so
not a production in any sense. just Marina commanding a stage. which is great because fuck, this woman can command a stage! I mean!!!
the opening act was relentless. lights on, Marina enters, straight into with Ancient Dreams, followed by Venus Fly Trap. both popped off and the crowd (very young, pretty diverse, all religiously into Marina) was into it. then into Froot. Froot is such a fucking moment every time. a truly
loved song and she clearly knows it's one of her best. (she has excellent instincts about her own music I feel, maybe also reflecting why this show is so Electra Heart / TFJ heavy - but more on that later.)
Man's World next, which had the feel to me of an instinct classic in how the crowd was living. a massive singalong. a most enthusiastic crowd
I actually went hoping to meet friends but they were front row having queued since 2pm (!) so I was surrounded by strangers which was weirdly quite an enjoyable experience at a show like this. I could just lose myself.
she did four songs from TFJ and Oh No! was a massive highlight
Purge the Poison doesn't seem that loved generally (?), but thankfully she performed the shit out of it. I love that song and think it stands among her earlier bangers... To Be Human was the only song from Love + Fear, which maybe says a lot. NO BREATHERS at all in the show's first half, just one after another. she talked a bit and said her dad was at the show and had brought Greek, Welsh and Ukranian flags, which was cute, but it was mostly relentless. when she did Happy I did wonder if she was slowing things down...
but she just did one verse and chorus and then
went straight into Forget. WHICH WAS A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE! I've adored that song for so long and seeing it done in full was epic. again the crowd knew every word which WARMED MY GAY HEART! I was next to a cutie also just in his feelings and I thought: husband material
then she did Teen Idle which obviously had everyone SCREAMING and HYSTERICAL at the opening line. I mean please believe me when I say I SIMPLY DIED! there and then! maybe it was the arrangement or the band but it felt a bit less stripped back and more of a FULL ON BANGER and yes it might be her very best song.
the last segment was really Electra Heart heavy - Heartbreaker and Bubblegum Bitch, and for the encore Goodbye and Primadonna. she definitely knows how enduringly popular this album is and has come to embrace it. she should do a 10th anniversary show for it. all were massive moments, How to Be a Heartbreaker really feels like THE #1 THAT NEVER WAS (except in the alt realities of myself and miss
@Suedey). Goodbye with Marina at the piano was just what we deserved. serving serious vocals! for Bubblegum Bitch she sang "welcome to the life of..." and let the crowd scream ELECTRA HEART!!! which was essentially gay rights.
apologies for literally writing an academic essay but I needed to get this shit down in writing. I'm SO HAPPY I did this on a whim and didn't miss out, because it really affirmed for me that she's one of the best popstars around. she has pop in her blood and lives for performing and loves her back catalogue AND THAT PLEASES ME! also, she said the new album is being written and is "very different from this one", so I don't know what to expect but I need something soon! keep me fed, goddess!
tl;dr - phenomenal show from my queen