Lorde Shot by Ophelia Mikkelson Jones Photo: Shot by Ophelia Mikkelson Jones
Lorde's long-awaited Solar Power World Tour touched down in Tāmaki Makaurau after what felt like an endless string of rescheduling announcements. Originally announced in 2021 off the back of the singers latest album, 'Solar Power,' the tour itself has lit up almost every corner of the globe.
Fans, some of whom had been lining up since 3am that day, were met with a peerless opening lineup consisting of RIIKI REID, Fazerdaze, and Marlon Williams before Lorde took to the stage. Warming up the crowd seemed to not be a challenge - all three acts brought their own energy to the stage.
"This is the show I think the most about on the whole tour - the whole world tour - this is the one," an earnest Lorde, sitting atop a large sundial in the middle of the stage, said.
"There's something about playing in a field down the road from your house that is very surreal."
There's nothing more special than a Lorde concert in Tāmaki Makaurau. Much like a rugby game on home soil, a hometown show for any artist brings along an energy - from both the artist and the crowd - that you can't replicate anywhere else in the world. Furthermore, fans had flown in from as close as Napier and as far as the US to get a taste of what I would describe as one of the most intense Lorde concerts I've ever been to.
As a body of work; an entity of sorts at this point, Solar Power exists by way of places such as Grey Lynn Park, Herne Bay Beach, Minnehaha, Cheltenham Beach, and even Western Springs Stadium. It's no less of an aural recollection of memories for the singer - a sonic representation of her greatest, happiest moments - all of which resonate within the bounds of a classic Auckland summer.
"I know you have some pent up summer frustrations that you could let out tonight," the singer says, grinning, acknowledging that Auckland hasn't exactly had the kind of summer Solar Power was written about.
Marlon Williams joined Lorde, better known to her friends and family as Ella Yelich-O'Connor, for the te reo Māori rendition of 'Stoned At The Nail Salon', translated by Hana Mereraiha for the singer's 2021 release Te Ao Mārama.
I've never in my life seen a crowd more still in such a respectful way. Bar the racist comments I heard around me, all of which were shushed by punters, there was something extremely special about this performance. I still can't put my finger on it - my jaw was on the floor for the whole four-and-a-half minutes the two were on stage. I even shed a tear.
The show consists of a setlist of quite an eclectic nature, from Melodrama deep-cuts to even deeper Pure Heroine cuts, the fans who have been at Lorde's side for the better part of 10 years lived out their adolescence through a selection of songs that soundtracked their growth alongside the singer.
'Ribs' is nothing short of a cult classic Lorde song. If you were a Lorde fan around the time Pure Heroine was released, you would know how much that song blew up. Exploding all over Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, and gaining a permanent spot on every setlist she's ever performed, it's no surprise that the crowd knew every word - every syllable - to the song. The echo of "You're the only friend I need / Sharing beds like little kids / And laughing 'til our ribs get tough / But that will never be enough" could have been heard all the way out at Waiheke Island. It was that loud.
The volume of the crowd didn't die down for a second. Songs such as 'Liability', 'Sober', 'Supercut', 'Green Light', and recent billion-stream-club member, 'Royals', left the crowd gasping for air, and leaving Lorde with her jaw on the floor. Towards the end of the concert, she exclaimed "You sound so f***ing cool," and from then, it only got louder.
Everything on the Solar Power tour feels extremely deliberate, probably because it is. When talking to Charlotte Ryan prior to the show, the singer explained that not only did she draw the set design out on paper before it was made, but the show itself was choreographed by Annie-B Parson who is most famous for creating American Utopia.
Going into the show with that knowledge, it's so telling that every movement is extremely calculated, so much so as to tell a story throughout a 23-song long setlist. From the turning of the sundial to the utilization of the stairs, Ella touches every corner of the stage with grace, fluidity and a poise that can't be matched.
After many an outfit change, it's safe to say that the crowd of 8000 people gathered in the Outer Fields had let up all, if not an excess of their summer frustrations. Among them was me, who, gasping for air, had just experienced what I would now believe to be one of many 'core memory moments'.
I won't be forgetting the Solar Power tour any time soon.
