Before Paradise Tour, who would have thought that Lana Del Rey can perform? Certainly not me. Her Saturday Night Live was a fiasco and the young american didn't show much talent in singing in other live recordings either.
But hello Glasgow and hello Lana! On May 16th I was among other fans queuing to her concert. The concert had first been announced to venue at 02 Academy but had been changed to the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Center, SECC, only a week due to the magic day. A move that got someone like pissed off, having especially wanted to see Lana on a small stage.
From the first notes of Lana's singing, coming from behind the massive opera-like scenes, most of the crowd was sold. My heart, too, jumped. I was actually seeing Lana! The feeling really kicked in with the first lines of Cola. Provocative, but cool. Something only Lana could pull off.
Lana was in a moved state that evening. It had been one year since her last concert in Glasgow, the home city of her boyfriend. "I spent so many, many days here with the last two years visiting my sexy singer from my favorite band", Lana told in one of her speeches. Performing in Glasgow was like a homecoming and you could feel it.
It was certainly the place to see Lana.
Without Me was brought to life with such glamour it hit me hard. If a song that has never been any special becomes it because of its live version, the singer's done a seriously good job. And Lana did. She put her best into the concert and was far from an overproduced plastic icon. Lana was accused for having been a camera posing diva at her concert in Helsinki, a concert I didn't go to myself but having seen her in Glasgow I can't but wonder. The woman interacting with her audience and singing with a fan's Video Games flower headband look-a-like on right in front of my own eyes, regardless if the headband matched or not, was certainly not camera posing.
Video footage was played on the background of the songs. Two majestic tigers were reflected to the both sides of the stage during Born To Die. The visual side was really been put effort to. Lana, herself, wore a bohemian white lace dress with a brown belt and a golden cross hanging on her neck. The setlist included all the hit songs like Video Games, Blue Jeans, Born To Die, Summertime Sadness and as a surprise to me - Carmen, a song Lana introduced as a song she likes to sing. Phrases like "I feel like..." and "Let's do..." made the setlist feel on the moment and not written on stone.
I'm glad I went. That I saw Lana. That she totally exceeded all my expectations. She has made a huge progress as a live performer and was actually using the stage in her advantage. The Paradise Edition songs got new colours and the brand new The Great Gatsby song Young and Beautiful was raised to its own sphere. Two of my favourite songs that I had wished to hear, You Can Be The Boss and Kinda Outta Luck, were not played. Still, the most overwhelming moment was when I heard the intro of Born To Die begin. I was damn proud of Lana.
And as the last thing, here's a video I recorded in the concert:
