CONCERT REVIEW : LANA DEL REY

LANA DEL REY - LUST FOR LIFE TOUR

JANUARY 21ST 2017 - WELLS FARGO CENTER - PHILADELPHIA

A "13 Beaches" intro began to play and electrify the arena before anyone even saw her. Everyone singing the first lyrical lines and then, out of a bright white light, Lana Del Rey emerged from the side stage stairs and greeted her audience. As she took a minute to congratulate the Eagles for having just won, she set off into the rest of "13 Beaches". Then, along with her two backup singers, laid on the floor of the stage and performed "Pretty When You Cry". Then came a seductive, yet less explicit version of "Cherry". As Lana swayed from side to side, she seemed to have left out much of the explicit language. She lent went into a shortened version of "Yayo" which hails from her Lizzy Grant days.

As the intro to "Born To Die" began to play, the crowd went crazy. A popular track from her 2012 breakout album, Lana twirled around the stage while allowing the crowd to fill in parts of the chorus. Staying with the Born To Die era, she then went into "Blue Jeans", a personal favorite of mine. Next came the tour debut of "God Bless America & All The Beautiful Women In It". I must note that I was disappointed to see that this track took the place of "Diet Mountain Dew", a song from her earlier days that I was excited to see performed live.

Next up was a string of some of her fan-favorite songs, which included "White Mustang", "Honeymoon", and "National Anthem". For me, seeing "White Mustang" done live was one of the highlights of the show. It's one of my personal favorite tracks on the Lust For Life album. As Lana performed "National Anthem", the much loved JFK & Jackie Kennedy-inspired video played on the main stage screen. She rounded out this section with "When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing" and the most recent album's title track "Lust For Life".

Lana then went into a medley of "Change", "Black Beauty", and her Gatsby-soundtrack "Young And Beautiful". As the medley ended, Lana heard fans in the front GA scream out for "Old Money", a track from her days before the creation of her Lana Del Rey persona. As she joked she didn't know if she could remember all of the lyrics, she gave it a shot anyway and as she urged her guitar player into the key, she effortlessly fell into sync with the music and lyrics. Next was "Ride" and then into "Video Games", for which she sat on a backyard-style swing, adorned with flowers and streamers.

As she gracefully got off the swing, the intro instrumental to "Love" began to play. I was beyond happy to see that the Lust For Life era lead single was back in the setlist. ("Love" has, ironically, not been performed at every show on the LA To The Moon Tour, thus far.) As "Love" came to an end, Lana asked the crowd whether they'd rather hear "Cruel World" or "Ultraviolence", for which she received a mixed response, so she went with "Cruel World". Then, to everyone's shock and utter excitement, Lana told her band to play "Ultraviolence" and the crowd went wild. What could be argued as the song that put Lana on the map as an artist who was here to stay, the 2014 Ultraviolence album was an era unlike anything most other artists have ever done.

The music of "Summertime Sadness" then began and everyone knew, sadly, the end was near. A sped up version, Lana powered through her most popular single, the song everyone knows even if you have no clue who Lana Del Rey is. Lana had finally saved the best for last. As she announced the last song and thanked her band and fans for making this tour possible, it was time for "Off To The Races". Accompanied with her full band, backup singers/dancers and choreography, "Off To The Races" was another highlight of the show, a perfect ending to the show.

Setlist

13 Beaches

Pretty When You Cry

Cherry

Yayo

Born To Die

Blue Jeans

God Bless America & All The Beautiful Women In It

White Mustang

Honeymoon

National Anthem

When The World Was At War We Kept Dancing