Despite roaring winds, rain, and lightning, Lana Del Rey managed to get on the stage at Fenway Park, giving fans the special show that she promised them.
Lana Del Rey’s Ocean Blvd tour has been as untraditional as her music career over the past 10 years.
Mainly consisting of festival gigs and a few standalone shows scattered across the states, her show at Boston’s Fenway Park was marketed to fans as “One Special Night.” Both the events leading up to the concert and the show itself lived up to this title, Lana giving fans a night they certainly won’t ever forget.
Her 9th studio album, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, will undoubtedly be a career defining work for her. Arguably Lana’s most honest and vulnerable album yet, the tracks explore everything from her complicated family history and upbringing on ‘Fingertips’ to contemplations on how fleeting fame and sustained recognition is on the title track. The levels of introspection reached on the record alongside the depths she let us explore with her is something that she has only given fans glimpses of in previous releases.
Lana’s previous two albums Chemtrails Over The Country Club and Blue Bannisters came unexpectedly and quietly. Before last year, Lana hadn’t toured since 2019 for the release of her 6th album, ‘Norman F*ing Rockwell!’ Headlining festivals like All Things Go and Coachella for this tour, Lana has made her return to the stage more memorable than ever, her setlist comprising of songs from the diverse discography, one that has captured the minds of her loyal fan base over the 10+ years she has been in the industry. Many have been wondering what could have made Fenway more special than her last few shows, and she (and mother nature’s plan for the day) certainly didn’t disappoint.
The concert was on Thursday, June 20th, which just happened to be the hottest day of the year.
While certainly uncomfortable for attendees, having Lana’s ‘One Special Night’ concert land on a day with record-breaking warmth in 90 + degree weather is something undeniably Lana. My friends and I packed in with the rest of the sweaty floor crowd at around 7:00 PM. Attendees were dressed in dainty black bows, airy white dresses, and Americana wear… it felt like a wedding, Fourth of July, and a sultry funeral all at once.
Closer to her slated entry time at 8:30, dark storm clouds began to roll in over Fenway. You could feel the tension among everyone in the crowd; we all knew that was bad news, but no one wanted to say what it could mean. 8:30 came and went, winds picking up and clouds getting darker. As soon as we saw a staff worker come out onto the stage with a mic and paper in hand, a swarm of “NO”s and “BOO”s were already echoing throughout the crowd, “Due to the wind and weather conditions, we are delaying the start of the show. Everyone seated on the floor must evacuate and wait inside until the weather has calmed down.”
Begrudgingly, fans that had been sitting in the heat for hours were escorted inside Fenway. For almost two hours, sardined attendees waited, rain pouring and thunder roaring, for any sort of news as to when the show would begin. While waiting, Lana had posted an update through Instagram stories explaining how every time there is a lightning strike, they must wait an additional 20 minutes. At that point, there had been so many instances of lightning that many were convinced that the show would be cancelled. Very shortly after Lana posted on her story, she put a poll up on an Instagram post that has since been deleted:
Would you rather have a 1 hour show tonight or a full 2 hour set on Saturday?
Votes were split down the middle, comments on the post urging her to perform tonight; there were people that flew in from as far as Los Angeles. On the other hand, others wanted the full setlist that Lana had planned for the show. Many were even commenting for Lana to “pay the fee” that people assumed comes with performing past Fenway’s notorious 11:00 PM curfew.
Once those two posts went up, there weren’t any more updates from Lana, and eventually, we were asked to move back to our seats on the floor at 10:00 PM.
At any concert, cheers from the crowd are to be expected once the lights dim and you know that the artist is about to walk out on stage.
Whether it be the fact that we had been waiting for almost four hours in delirium-inducing heat or the pure love fans have for Lana and her music, the cheers that came from the crowd once those lights dimmed at 10:30 were louder than any clap of thunder we had heard over the past few hours.
Lana’s dancers, all dressed in red shining dresses, came out dancing to a song Lana was debuting at the show, rumored to be titled, “The Mirror.” Lana stepped out onto the stage and you could collectively feel the relief and excitement from attendees; there she finally was, despite everything that had happened. Dressed in her custom made Dolce & Gabbana dress that she’d been wearing at most shows, Lana looked as glamorous and old money as ever, this rendition a shimmering red to commemorate performing at Fenway Park.
The production of “The Mirror” had the speed and intensity of a track off Lana’s first album, Born to Die, but the vocal stylings that sounded like something off of Lust for Life with the subdued, airy delivery. She even calls this out her revisiting of sounds in the lyrics.
Past, present, future
Jesus Saves
And I just break shit in a thousand ways
To get fame
Back to the top,
Back to the basics
Restart the tape, Lake Placid, baby
Past, present, future, I see in you
Lana “break[s]” musical conventions in countless fashions, perhaps teasing with this new track how she’ll be taking everything that’s comprised her signature sound over the past decade to create something fantastic.
From that point on, Lana sped through the show as gracefully as she possibly could.
She performed 15 songs (some of which had to be shortened) in just over an hour, going about 45 minutes past Fenway’s 11:00 PM curfew.
It was clear that Lana wanted to push through the entirety of her set if possible. A little over more than halfway through the show, someone was either speaking to her through her head-piece or in front of the stage, Lana repeatedly saying back, “Okay, okay, we get it.” We can assume it was someone from Fenway telling her she needs to wrap the show up since she’s already going past the noise curfew. Lana pressed on anyway.
Regardless of the swift show, she was able to perform some of her classic hits like “Video Games,” and “Summertime Sadness,” while also peppering in fan favorites such as “Pretty When You Cry” and “Cherry.” Throughout each song, Lana’s vocals were incredibly impressive and captivating, her delivery never failing to make you feel like you’re soaring through the sky. When Lana sings, her voice takes you with her, whether that be to the dark and psychedelic landscapes of Ultraviolence tracks or to the youthful melodrama of songs from Born To Die.
Three of the 15 songs Lana Del Rey performed were with special guests as well, more guests than any of her previous shows.
Lana brought out folk singer Mason Ramsey to sing his new single “Blue Over You.” You may be more familiar with the 17-year-old singer as the ‘Walmart yodeling boy.’ He went viral in 2018 for yodeling ‘Lovesick Blues’ by Hank Williams in a Walmart, but he has proven he’s much more than a fleeting viral meme. A heartbreak song that felt like something straight from Lana’s musical catalog, Lana and Mason’s voices melted together seamlessly and made for a beautiful moment to watch between a musical icon and an up-and-coming artist. It’s refreshing to know someone as big as Lana Del Rey is more than willing to collaborate and share her spotlight with younger, budding singers.
Later on in the show, Lana called singer/songwriter Stephen Sanchez to the stage, another artist who seems to live in the same musical universe as her. Much like Lana has done throughout her career, Stephen Sanchez leans into the aesthetics and sounds of Gatsby-like, old-money, glamourized sides of American culture, making for a satisfying duo that felt incredibly natural and gratifying on stage. The two sang Sanchez’s “Until I Found You,” the crowd in awe at their on stage chemistry.
Lana’s last special guest was rapper Quavo, coming out to perform another new song called “Tough.” Lana has worked with rappers in the past, such as ASAP Rocky and Playboy Carti, but if you’re only roughly familiar with Lana’s music, you wouldn’t necessarily think that her sound fits well behind a hip-hop beat or alongside rapping. Surprisingly enough, playing ping pong on a song between Lana’s sultry voice and a rapper’s verses makes for a unique and dreamy listening experience. The two gave a memorable performance, Quavo and Lana seemingly unable to keep their hands off one another, making their first live performance of the song something to behold. Much like “The Mirror,” the song had a very similar vibe to something off of Born To Die, all with a country sort of twang added to the production, a sound Lana has been exploring as of late. Her country influences are even clearer in the song’s lyricism:
Tough like a scuff on a pair of old leather boots
Like the blue-collar, red dirt attitude…
Sure as the good lords up above
I’m cut like a diamond shinin’ in the rough
Tough
Two new singles hopefully means we can expect Lana’s upcoming album, Lasso, very soon, announcing earlier this year that she’d been planning on a September release.
Once Quavo left the stage, Lana closed the show with “Video Games.”
She’d typically been closing her shows with “Young and Beautiful,” but already going far past Fenway’s curfew, ending with the song the propelled her to super stardom was the perfect choice for this tour that showcases her artistry and musical diversity over her career; it was a full circle moment.
What was particularly special about this show, and about this tour as a whole, are the contradictions between some of the themes Lana was exploring on Did you know there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd and the reality of what was happening at her performances. The title track of the album urges her listeners, critics, the public, to not cast Lana away as a has-been artist whose best years are behind her, comparing herself to that of the tunnel beneath Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach, California, that’s been sealed up since the 60s:
Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Boulevard?
Mosaic ceilings, painted tiles on the wall…
Handmade beauty sealed up by two man-made walls…
When’s it gonna be my turn?
Don’t forget me
There is great irony in performing a song about being forgotten to thousands of fans who waited hours in pouring rain to sing every word along with one of their favorite artists.
While Lana Del Rey’s fears are natural and valid, especially considering some of the criticism from other figures in the industry, this tour has proven that Lana certainly isn’t going to be forgotten anytime soon, an artist that feels like she is always reaching her pique in new ways as she continues to push musical boundaries. Lana has always made the music that feels right to her as an artist, not what’s palatable in the moment, and having a fanbase as vast and loyal as hers without submitting to conformity is something truly special.
With three special guests and two new songs performed, one can’t help but wonder what else Lana Del Rey may have had up her sleeve for this ‘One Special Night’ show had the weather not interfered. Regardless, she came out and gave fans a show that was reflective of her talent and mastery of her craft.
The fine Lana must have paid for going well past the 11:00 curfew was assuredly sizable, and if she were allowed, it seemed like Lana would have been willing to pay an even steeper fine and perform the full set. Her love for her fanbase is as full of warmth and devotion as ours is for her, Lana promising that she plans on giving a full two hour show back to us, “somehow, somewhere.”
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