Lorde, Auckland NZ, 2023

Lorde

4th March 2023
The Outer Fields Western Springs, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Doug Peters.

In what was a bit of a shock to the system, I found myself in full sunlight, the heat beating down on me as I trudged along the long asphalt driveway of the hallowed grounds of Western Springs – a venue that has seen artists such as AC/DC, Elton John, Pink Floyd, The Police, Deep Purple and David Bowie (that one saw close to 80 thousand people cram themselves into the stadium). However once through the entry gate (complete with a member of security recognising me and querying if I was working, and where my cameras were… *sigh*) I was to turn right and make my way across the large open field, for tonight’s show was in the outer fields. Excuse me? Surely our Lorde could fill the real deal, the main stage on these grounds? Clearly I had misinterpreted the popularity of this girl from the shore, the success story of the young artist who could or a thousand other litotes written in the major league presses about one Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, or Lorde to you and I.

But I’m getting ahead of myself here.

Wandering across this great grassed expanse littered with big patches of sand (no chance of mud today!) I took note of the large contingent of those who had come early who were hunkered down in the only available shade in the place – along the giant temporary fence on the outline of the Outer Fields. It seems I wasn’t the only one struggling with being out in what seemed like the first proper summer weekend this year (despite the official word being that the first of March has passed us by, Summer is now kaput, we welcome our new Autumn overlords etc.). Still, determined I was going to experience this concert like any other regular punter would I made my way to the front of the stage that had been set up down one end of the field – up and coming local Pop sensation RIIKI REID already on stage, throwing poses like she was at the end of a Milan catwalk, the worlds top photographers at her feet as she warmed up the already sweltering crowd.

I first came across RIIKI REID on this very stage, as she supported L.A.B on their Summer Tour back at the start of 2022. Back then she was just RIIKI and felt like a bit of a bubblegum pop novelty act, a far cry from tonight’s confident performer who had the small but very engaged crowd eating out of the palm of her hand as she strutted around the stage, sometimes with a full four piece backing band, and other times with just a backing track and live drums (not that I noticed straight away, such was the attention RIIKI was commanding). If this is how far she has come in a year, I look forward to seeing what she does in the near future – definitely an artist to watch!

Next up on the bill was Fazerdaze, an artist I admittedly haven’t given my full attention in the past – a fact I should definitely be admonished for given how much I enjoyed this set! Today a five piece band of 90’s high school boyfriends and girlfriends, Fazerdaze (or Amelia Murray to her friends) was centre stage belting out the most perfect grunge tinged pop songs. As I closed my eyes and stood there in the beating sun I imagined I was standing Mainstage at Lollapalooza in the mid 90’s or at one of the late afternoon Big Day Out slots we all loved and lived throughout the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Sometimes channeling Kim Deal and The Breeders, other times you could hear the influence of Kim Gordon and Sonic Youth, these tracks performed live were nothing short of superlative and have ensured I got home and have added anything I can of theirs to the Discogs Wishlist to hunt down in future record buying sprees! The only negative of this set was the audience that had gathered around me – these songs deserved a heaving, pogoing, mass of bodies, but instead were greeted with an apathetic conglomerate of kids more interested in anything else than what was happening on stage. I even spotted one group sitting playing UNO right where the mosh pit should be…

It was at the close of this set that I realised it would probably be a good idea to replenish some of the liquids I had sweated out while I un-coordinately moved my body in time to the music (because as anyone who has seen me try to dance can attest to, it should never be labelled as such). As a photographer who usually has the luxury of bringing his own food and drink to the festivals, or is sometimes able to purloin that sweet backstage nectar, the thought of lining up to buy a Coke or a lemonade filled me with dread. Thankfully this is something you don’t have to worry about with this venue, the bar and it’s staff are plenty and were efficient with a smile – meaning with a quick flick of the Apple Watch in the general vicinity of the eftpos machine (none of that horrid pre-paid chip styled system here), I was back to my spot in front of the stage for the next act with a chilled but rapidly evaporating Coke in my hand.

And what an act the next artist on the lineup was! Admittedly one of my favourite Kiwi artists of all time so I may possibly be a bit biased, but Marlon Williams with his band The Yarra Benders is always going to be a good time, but even more so a rare treat to see them on a big stage through a huge PA! Not that you would have known it, the crowd around me drowning out poor Marlon and his crew with their loud talking, numerous selfies and other photo opportunities (I just know there are going to be many fun group photos on social media in the next few days with a grumpy looking unshaven guy in a hat in the back of them – sorry for bringing the tone down kids!) and of course the constant pushing and shoving back and forth to get food and drinks – basically, again, anything except actually paying any attention to the talent on stage.

Kicking off the set with a beautiful rendition of ‘E Mawehe Ana Au’ Marlon’s set was filled with old songs and new – the tracks off his latest album ‘My Boy’ bringing a happy swagger to what is often a sombre affair in seeing Marlon perform live. This isn’t a bad thing either, we’ve seen him bring the beautiful, we’ve seen him bring the darkness, now he’s ready to bring the party to his live performances and as the kids would say, I’m living for it. Ending his set down in the audience, every cellphone in the place trained on him (yes, including mine), Marlon’s set was over far too quickly for my liking (although he did perform for a good 50 minutes or so, I’m just greedy ok!?).

And with the support acts out of the way, the mood in the venue changed from one of apathy to a sort of nervous excitement. Uno games were packed up and bodies began to push closer and tighter to one another – for their Lorde and saviour was due to finally perform that much anticipated home town show. Originally announced back in 2021, we’ve been relishing the thought of this moment for nearly two years. The set changeover felt like an eternity, and it was at this moment that I realised that a great deal of the sticky sweat covering my body wasn’t mine (YUCK) and I also came to realise the majority of the people around me only came up to shoulder level on me – I had become that tall old guy who hangs out near the front getting in everyone’s way. Concert etiquette out the window I stayed put, it’s been six long years since I last saw Lorde perform live (and what a magnificent show that Powerstation concert was!) and I was determined to be able to not only hear her perform, but see her as well without having to watch the two giant screens that flanked the left and right of the stage.

Suddenly the lights went out, the crowd roared and we were off on the adventure of the night – the opening bars of ‘Leader Of The New Regime’ pouring out of the PA as a silhouette of Lorde appeared behind a large circle in a giant ladder prop in the centre of the stage. As Leader of The New Regime melted into ‘Homemade Dynamite’ and Lorde made her first proper appearance on stage the screaming from the crowd became almost hysterical. The old school favourite ‘Buzzcut Season’ was up next and we were at ‘audience screams drowning out The Beatles’ level of noise so I made the decision that it was time for me to find a much more civilised spot at the back of the crowd.

It was then that I realised that while the audience tightly packed at the front of the stage felt like a huge heaving mass, in reality I had easily popped out the back into fresh clean air after just a few moments of weaving my way through the crowd. Another kiddie pop (and another big smile from another barkeep) for me from the bar and a nice spot where I could stand without being touched by anyone else yet could still easily see Lorde (and more importantly hear her clearly) on stage made me see the error of my ways in trying to go toe to toe (or head to shoulder) with the über fans in the front.

It was then that Marlon Williams made another appearance on stage to sing ‘Mata Kohore’ (the Te Reo version of ‘Stoned At The Nail Salon’) alongside Lorde, and yup, it took me a while to pick my jaw up off the ground during that performance such was the beauty we were witnessing. There was no butchering of the Māori language from our Lorde – her pronunciation absolutely spot on, lifting this song to a whole new level completely and ensuring I added the limited edition record “Te Ao Mārama” to my Wishlist at my earliest convenience.

I’m not going to give you an absolute play by play, as if you’re reading this you were probably there, and if you weren’t then you probably weren’t all that interested in being there given the amount of time you had to clear your schedules so you could. What I will say though, is if you weren’t there, you missed out. Big time. There is a reason why Lorde is one of our biggest musical exports and why she sells out stadiums around the world with ease. I could go into the travesty that it is that certain other artists can sell out the biggest stadiums around this city but struggle to fill overseas venues, yet our Lorde only pulls a fraction of their numbers locally, but that’s a conversation for another time. I’m too busy basking in the glow of being able to witness a truly world class artist at such an intimate event. Let’s hope it’s not another six or seven years to be able to do so eh!?

Were you there at The Outer Fields for this art pop extravaganza? Or have you seen Lorde perform somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Setlist:

1. Leader of a New Regime
2. Homemade Dynamite
3. Buzzcut Season
4. Mata Kohore / Stoned at the Nail Salon [with Marlon Williams][Te Reo]
5. Fallen Fruit
6. The Path
7. California
8. Ribs
9. The Louvre
10. Big Star
11. Liability
12. Maybe Tomorrow [Goldenhorse cover]
13. Secrets From a Girl (Who’s Seen It All)
14. Tennis Court
15. Mood Ring
16. Sober
17. Supercut
18. Perfect Places
19. Solar Power
20. Green Light
21. Hine-i-te-Awatea / Oceanic Feeling [Te Reo]
22. Royals [encore]
23. Team [encore]

_{Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.}

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