Lorde is the real deal. I don’t know why it took me so long to see it, but getting to see her perform a thrilling set at Boston Calling last night made me see the error in my ways.
After a couple of hours of delays and an eventual evacuation due to thunder and lightning storms (Volcano Choir and Girl Talk had their sets canceled), Lorde was able to perform a somewhat truncated 50-minute set. You better believe that she made use of every damn minute that she had. While waiting for her to come out and take the stage, I was taken aback by how many people formed a crowd to see the 17-year-old New Zealand native play. It was an impressive feat, no doubt, but not something I fully understood until she came out and did her thing.
She was born to perform; a natural up on stage, able to convey her power towards the screaming girls in the very front row, as well as the fans all the way in the back of One City Plaza. Whether you realize it or not, you know most of the hits off of Lorde’s inescapable debut album Pure Heroine. I’ll admit I grew tired and weary of hearing “Royals” and Team” around the clock, I was impressed and enamored at how well she performed them live. Not only musically, but in terms of stage presence and command, she was in terrific form throughout. She had the entirety of Boston Calling singing with her, an impressive feat for anyone, let a long a 17-year-old. What were you doing when you were 17?
For a young girl with insane levels of success, Lorde displayed exquisite levels of maturity and class. She thanked the crowd for coming back to see her, clearly excited and amazed at how the crowd reacted to her performance. She was also just as disappointed, and sorry, that the great Volcano Choir and Girl Talk didn’t get to perform, a point that she later reiterated on her twitter account. Everything about Lorde came off as authentic, a refreshing change of pace in the world of pop.
I went in not expecting much and left as a new fan. If Lorde is the future of music, I think we got lucky. Count me in.
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