Marina & The Diamonds at the London Palladium
Clock Opera
London Palladium, 6 December 2015
This has to be the most "pop" show I've ever been to but after thinking about it, in some ways it wasn't million miles from the theatrical St. Vincent show I attended last year. Of course, Annie Clark didn't have gay guys voguing at the front or half the audience appearring to be young teenage girls dressed as their idol and accompanied by parents. I was definitely out of place! I do love Marina and she is a fantastic pop artist but it took me a while to get my head around it all as it is so unlike my usual fare.
When I first discovered Marina she was more of an indie artist, having just released her debut EP, The Crown Jewels, on an independent (before then signing to a major, which she has been with since). By her second album, however, she fully embraced a pop persona, but given her movie star looks and full-on glamour it was only a matter of time really. Still her latest album, Froot, still has a lot of that indie spirit, being released initially as a series of 7" singles and co-produced by David Kosten (who worked with Natasha Khan on all three of Bat For Lashes' albums) while every single song was written entirely by Marina Diamandis herself. All this and the fact that the new record is absolutely superb, of course, made me feel the time was right to finally see Marina & The Diamonds live but it was definitely different to what I expected.
Marina tells us during the concert that she personally chose the London Palladium because she has always enjoyed mixing theatre and music in her shows, which to be fair artists like Kate Bush, St. Vincent and David Bowie, to name but a few always manage to do. When I arrive though it feels like all those of a similar age to me are accompanied by their children. One posh woman behind me tells a stranger that she previously brought her daughter to a concert by Ariana Grande for her birthday! There are lots of young teens dressed as Marina, with sparkly fruit on their heads or little hearts on their cheeks (as on the cover of Electra Heart). It was cute but showed for sure this was not my usual crowd.
The opening band made me feel a little more at home though as they are a traditional all-male indie rock band called Clock Opera. A lot of people leave the venue during their set including a family sitting by my side (the mother tells me twice that "Marina isn't on till 9pm!" as if I'd race from my seat relieved). To be fair, Clock Opera are a pretty unmemorable indie rockers but their distorted guitars and building angsty songs still make me feel a little less like the spy at the pop concert.
All the parents who couldn't stand the noise return five minutes before Marina is set to hit the stage and thankfully for them she arrives right on time. The first thing that hits me is just what a complete bombshell she is. There is no way that Marina could ever be just an indie star, because she is like Liz Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Jessica Rabbit and Debbie Harry wrapped up in a metallic purple, skin-tight suit and matching Mickey Mouse ears. Her hourglass figure is jaw-dropping and her face just stunning: I can actually see the eyes of the dads around me widen and part of me begins to worry if their eyeballs will pop out and they'll start panting and hollering like in a cartoon. I see all this really well because I have a seat not far from the stage and we're all sitting, but sadly for me, Marina immediately gets everyone to stand up and, like that, my amazing view is gone. Ah well, sad for old fogies like myself, great for the kids who want to jump and dance.
Thankfully Marina has a full band and like any rock singer she sings in the centre of them, sometimes standing on the platform on the back (which is a little more Kylie than Blondie) and sometimes with a mike stand at the front of the stage (this, I like) and sometimes strutting around the stage like a model. Beginning the set with early track Mowgli's Road, which has a Sparks-esque glam rock feel, there's no doubt that Marina has a tremendous voice and an incredible stage presence. She follows this with perhaps her most famous song (thanks to its use in an advert), I Am Not A Robot, which gets roars of approval and has a cute video playing behind the band of cartoon Marina robots being churned out on an assembly line.
When she then follows this with Oh No!, Hollywood and Obsessions (one of my favourite moments, with Marina performing it on the keyboards and telling us it was the first song she ever wrote), I wonder why there are so many tracks from her first album, The Family Jewels. It turns out that the show is divided into three acts, each one representing a different album and complete with visuals for each song (and animations of the album art between songs and sets). This is actually a rather wonderful idea and works amazingly well. For someone, like myself, who has never seen her live before, it's pretty nice to see her performing a selection from throughout her (albeit short) career rather than making it just a showcase for the new record.
Her next outfit for the Electra Heart section is even more eye-popping: a pink PVC catsuit with a long chiffon cape that makes her look like a fanboy's superhero dream come to life. Not surprisingly this was the most poppy part of the show: there were more lights it seemed, more dance-able fast beats and of course pure pop tracks like Bubblegum Bitch, Teen Idle, How To Be A Heartbreaker and Primadonna, before which Marina introduces a animated toy poodle called Marilyn, who she tells us she used to made up scandalous lies about during the Electra Heart tour (like she was fresh out of rehab). Poor doggy. It wiggles around the stage as she performs and sort of demonstrates that this act is a little more Britney or Katy Perry than Kate Bush.
After this Marina re-emerges in a sparkly blue catsuit, again with chiffon cape (of course) and huge glittery blueberries on her head to la-la her way through Froot's poppy upbeat title track. I don't know why but before this I didn't realise how much this sounds like a club track and the guys in front of me have a ball dancing to it. I enjoy Savages more, it has a more serious message about the state of the world ("underneath it all we're just savages") and sounds a little more electro-punk. Can't Pin Me Down sounds defiant and anthemic but it isn't until I'm A Ruin that she finally gives me one of my favourite songs on the album. It's moody and glorious and nearer the art-pop of Kate Bush than some of the previous more throwaway tracks. Her voice sounds soaring and wonderful on it and it's easily one of the highlights.
Although she sadly doesn't perform the best song from Froot (in my opinion), Better Than That, this section is easily the most serious and best part of the whole show, with the emotional Forget and the cinematic and sweeping Immortal ending the main set. Obviously this was a great ending but it kind of made me wish the whole show could have less "fun" and more rousing like these final few songs.
Despite another costume change (a light blue PVC catsuit with white stripe that makes her look like she should be in an 80s Fantastic Four TV movie - oh and stand-up Froot headband), the encore thankfully continues in this vein, with Happy, the great piano track that opens the record, being first performed alone by Marina until the whole band eventually comes in (I personally would have loved the entire thing to be solo) and the lovely Blue ending on a positive, hugely feelgood, singalong note.
This whole show was definitely an interesting experience for me and it was certainly enjoyable but the fact that the parts I loved the most were the more toned down moments, probably speaks volumes. Seeing her live didn't really make me appreciate Marina more as a musician but as a performer and entertainer I would definitely take her any day over the more famous, more popular pop stars out there because beneath the shiny, glittery surface, if nothing else, it is clear her music has a lot more to offer. I can't help thinking if Marina casts off some of the more typical pop star trappings she could be absolutely spectacular.
When I first discovered Marina she was more of an indie artist, having just released her debut EP, The Crown Jewels, on an independent (before then signing to a major, which she has been with since). By her second album, however, she fully embraced a pop persona, but given her movie star looks and full-on glamour it was only a matter of time really. Still her latest album, Froot, still has a lot of that indie spirit, being released initially as a series of 7" singles and co-produced by David Kosten (who worked with Natasha Khan on all three of Bat For Lashes' albums) while every single song was written entirely by Marina Diamandis herself. All this and the fact that the new record is absolutely superb, of course, made me feel the time was right to finally see Marina & The Diamonds live but it was definitely different to what I expected.
Marina tells us during the concert that she personally chose the London Palladium because she has always enjoyed mixing theatre and music in her shows, which to be fair artists like Kate Bush, St. Vincent and David Bowie, to name but a few always manage to do. When I arrive though it feels like all those of a similar age to me are accompanied by their children. One posh woman behind me tells a stranger that she previously brought her daughter to a concert by Ariana Grande for her birthday! There are lots of young teens dressed as Marina, with sparkly fruit on their heads or little hearts on their cheeks (as on the cover of Electra Heart). It was cute but showed for sure this was not my usual crowd.
The opening band made me feel a little more at home though as they are a traditional all-male indie rock band called Clock Opera. A lot of people leave the venue during their set including a family sitting by my side (the mother tells me twice that "Marina isn't on till 9pm!" as if I'd race from my seat relieved). To be fair, Clock Opera are a pretty unmemorable indie rockers but their distorted guitars and building angsty songs still make me feel a little less like the spy at the pop concert.
Thankfully Marina has a full band and like any rock singer she sings in the centre of them, sometimes standing on the platform on the back (which is a little more Kylie than Blondie) and sometimes with a mike stand at the front of the stage (this, I like) and sometimes strutting around the stage like a model. Beginning the set with early track Mowgli's Road, which has a Sparks-esque glam rock feel, there's no doubt that Marina has a tremendous voice and an incredible stage presence. She follows this with perhaps her most famous song (thanks to its use in an advert), I Am Not A Robot, which gets roars of approval and has a cute video playing behind the band of cartoon Marina robots being churned out on an assembly line.
When she then follows this with Oh No!, Hollywood and Obsessions (one of my favourite moments, with Marina performing it on the keyboards and telling us it was the first song she ever wrote), I wonder why there are so many tracks from her first album, The Family Jewels. It turns out that the show is divided into three acts, each one representing a different album and complete with visuals for each song (and animations of the album art between songs and sets). This is actually a rather wonderful idea and works amazingly well. For someone, like myself, who has never seen her live before, it's pretty nice to see her performing a selection from throughout her (albeit short) career rather than making it just a showcase for the new record.
After this Marina re-emerges in a sparkly blue catsuit, again with chiffon cape (of course) and huge glittery blueberries on her head to la-la her way through Froot's poppy upbeat title track. I don't know why but before this I didn't realise how much this sounds like a club track and the guys in front of me have a ball dancing to it. I enjoy Savages more, it has a more serious message about the state of the world ("underneath it all we're just savages") and sounds a little more electro-punk. Can't Pin Me Down sounds defiant and anthemic but it isn't until I'm A Ruin that she finally gives me one of my favourite songs on the album. It's moody and glorious and nearer the art-pop of Kate Bush than some of the previous more throwaway tracks. Her voice sounds soaring and wonderful on it and it's easily one of the highlights.
Although she sadly doesn't perform the best song from Froot (in my opinion), Better Than That, this section is easily the most serious and best part of the whole show, with the emotional Forget and the cinematic and sweeping Immortal ending the main set. Obviously this was a great ending but it kind of made me wish the whole show could have less "fun" and more rousing like these final few songs.
Despite another costume change (a light blue PVC catsuit with white stripe that makes her look like she should be in an 80s Fantastic Four TV movie - oh and stand-up Froot headband), the encore thankfully continues in this vein, with Happy, the great piano track that opens the record, being first performed alone by Marina until the whole band eventually comes in (I personally would have loved the entire thing to be solo) and the lovely Blue ending on a positive, hugely feelgood, singalong note.
This whole show was definitely an interesting experience for me and it was certainly enjoyable but the fact that the parts I loved the most were the more toned down moments, probably speaks volumes. Seeing her live didn't really make me appreciate Marina more as a musician but as a performer and entertainer I would definitely take her any day over the more famous, more popular pop stars out there because beneath the shiny, glittery surface, if nothing else, it is clear her music has a lot more to offer. I can't help thinking if Marina casts off some of the more typical pop star trappings she could be absolutely spectacular.
Comments
Post a Comment