I said “Yes to Heaven.” On Sep. 23, singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey performed live at the Ithink Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. Her first tour since 2018, the singer hit ten U.S. cities, and South Florida landed among them.
Her setlist mostly featured songs from her most recent album, “Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd” and her debut album “Born to Die,” a reflection on who she was and a celebration of who she has become.
Fans disliked that the singer chose smaller venues for her tour. Since Del Rey is an artist who could easily sell out stadiums, the limited ticket availability disappointed some fans who missed out.
However, upon arriving at the venue, I understood why she chose these venues. I had never been to a concert that felt so personal and intimate, which is difficult to achieve in a large stadium.
What took me by surprise was how respectful Del Rey’s fans were. When she performed, it felt like everyone knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and wanted to soak it all in. No one was disrespectful towards her or invaded her space.
When she began singing, I got chills all over my body as I had never heard an artist sing so well live. Del Rey has the voice of a siren. I couldn’t get enough of her hypnotic, mesmerizing voice.
Despite being a talented vocalist, many have criticized her live singing as off-key and tone-deaf. But upon hearing her voice live, I was wonderstruck — I had never heard such a beautiful voice.
The room was bathed in blue, in line with the generally mellow theme of her songs. This mood lighting made the experience more intimate — a dark but also soothing experience like her song “Dark Paradise.”
To my surprise, Del Rey’s backup dancers added a lot to the show. Since Lana’s music is not necessarily “dancy,” it was interesting to speculate about what kind of choreography they would perform. But watching the dancers felt like watching waves in the ocean. Their movement flowed and enhanced the show.
When performing most of her songs, Del Rey sat in a chair onstage, a choice that made it feel like she was singing lullabies to the whole crowd.
Her set also featured a flower-woven swing that she swung on as she sang “Video Games,” her 2011 breakthrough hit. This song is known as one of her most beautiful, and adding the swing made it that much more nostalgic — a trip back to simpler times.
The level of gratitude and appreciation Del Rey expressed to the crowd gave me a newfound respect for her. Throughout the entire show, she repeatedly thanked the audience for coming to watch her and for making this possible for her.
My only complaint is how short her show was. Clocking in around an hour and ten minutes, her set flew by, and I wish it was a little longer.
The length, however, did not take away from the show’s high quality. After all, time flies when you’re having fun.