Last night I was at Lana Del Rey‘s third (and final) sold-out show here in Los Angeles at the famed El Rey on Wilshire. Since last August (when the music video for Video Games dropped), we’ve been huge fans of Lana’s here at PopBytes, so I simply couldn’t pass up a chance to see her perform again. I saw her back a few months ago at her very first Los Angeles show at the Troubadour, overall I was impressed (this was before her infamous Saturday Night Live appearance which in the end was just too much too soon).
I really thought last night would be a much longer show, along with a slightly more polished performance but unfortunately neither transpired. The setlist was comprised of ten songs (the same from each of the three nights, I so was hoping for Dark Paradise), the show lasted for only 45 minutes. She was still quite decent vocally (she’s not a powerhouse by any means but she does better than most), I just didn’t really see much growth from her show back in November. She still had her signature nervous appearance yet I feel that whole vibe plays into her mass appeal, we all find it a bit endearing (or perhaps annoying if you’re not a fan) that she’s a bit shy and awkward (and most likely a total klutz), plus I do believe we are seeing her true personality, whether she goes by Lana, Lizzy Grant, or even the newly unearthed May Jailer.
It was obvious that fans do indeed connect with her, I waited to possibly meet Lana at the end of the show last night and met a bunch of diehard fans who were like literally half my age, it made me smile to think back on those days when I was all about Tori Amos. As for Lana’s career, I think she needs to stick with what works, her debut album Born To Die is a sonic masterpiece, whether it was created in a lab or not, I simply don’t care. Her whole vintage chanteuse, Valley of the Dolls, Brigitte Bardot, Nancy Sintra, and Barbarella schtick is (campy) perfection, this is stuff I live for. I also think it would be great to see Lana possibly try her hand at acting, I told this dude from CAA last night that they need to get her a starring role in a David Lynch film, how cool could be that be? Or perhaps a guest stint on Mad Men might be fun too? Whether you’re fan or not, you can’t argue that there is something intriguing about Ms. Del Rey, I for one can’t wait to see what happens in the future, let’s just pray she doesn’t go all tragic on us.
PS I was hanging out with my pal @MonicaMonroe – while Lana was singing her new track Body Electric, I said to Monica, that’s like the Ray Bradbury short story collection, I Sing the Body Electric, then this morning I heard he passed away at age 91, I hadn’t mentioned his name in ages, it spooked me!
SETLIST
“Blue Jeans”
“Body Electric”
“Born To Die”
“Lolita”
“Summertime Sadness”
“Without You”
“Million Dollar Man”
“Carmen”
“Video Games”
“National Anthem”
[PHOTOS | CHUCK GRANT]
About Michael Knudsen
