As the whole of Wembley Stadium screamed the lyrics of Ride back to Lana Del Rey, there was a euphoric sense of catharsis in the air – this was the point of live music.
Alongside a handful of other artists, the 40-year-old music artist has soundtracked my adolescence and early adulthood.
The melody of Summertime Sadness takes me back to sunny days spent with my sisters. Dark Paradise and Carmen became the anthem of my own indie pop-themed teen crash-out about the existential point of it all.
Norman F**king Rockwell! came out in my first year of university as I discovered the world on my own for the first time, threaded together with the backing music of Lana’s ethereal notes
In recent years, Lana’s Did You Know There’s A Tunnel Under Ocean Boulevard and A&W perfectly capture the essence of childhood nostalgia mixed with the relentless dread of growing older, and all the messiness that it entails.
I tried to watch Lana for the first time in February 2020 – I think we can all guess how that one ended. So, this was attempt number two.
I’m not naive. I’ve heard the stories of the Born to Die hitmakers’ poor stage etiquette – notoriously showing up late, singing off her phone, and disappointing fans with the short show lengths.
Still, when I first saw the poor reviews rolling in for her UK and Ireland stadium tour (complaints of a poor setlist and underwhelming 90-minute performance) I was still gutted and bracing myself for disappointment.
The Christian preacher we walked past on the stroll from Wembley Park station to the entrance, warning us of the hellfire that awaited, felt weirdly prescient.
And I would be lying if I said I had much interest in TikTok sensation turned debut pop star Addison Rae (who was opening for Lana as well as featuring in her set).
When she strolled onto stage five minutes early, I breathed a sigh of relief. The rest of the set proved just how wrong people had been.
Not only did Lana look a vision on stage, leaning into her familiar old Hollywood aesthetic, but her stage set-up (a tree-adorned home) felt fitting in its beauty and simplicity.
Then, of course, came the music. Ultimately, when it came down to it, belting out the lyrics to Venice B**ch, Ultraviolence, Summertime Sadness, Video Games and Young and Beautiful alongside thousands of others made the whole experience worth it.
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Lana commanded the room like a witch casts a spell, with all of us hooked onto her every word and move.
Her strength has always been in the way her music connects with her audience, and the unique husk of her voice that imbues an added gravitas to her songs.
It’s clear she cared about the audience experience as well, commenting on her attempts to make the sounds as high quality as possible between songs. Even her duet with Addison Rae, Diet Pepsi, ended up being a hoot.
Of course, there is no denying that the show still felt short and – given it was her first stadium tour – lengthening her setlist to cover more of her songs (including some wildcards) would have elevated this to a five-star experience.
Especially as she no longer had a new album to promote, given its unexpected delay.
My friends and I spent the whole day (July 4) anticipating she would sing National Anthem as a nod to American Independence Day to no avail.
It also felt cheeky to have a pre-recorded projection sing some of her songs when so many had paid a lot to experience her vocals live.
When compared to the theatrics brought by Taylor Swift, Beyonce, hey, even newcomers like Olivia Rodrigo – perhaps there was more scope for Lana to use the stage to create a larger-than-life performance.
In the end, the highs by far outweighed the lows and if my biggest note was that I simply wished there was more – then I’ll take it as a win.
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