Live Review & Photos by Jesse St.Clare
Welsh recording artist Marina and the Diamonds (or Marina Diamandis) is well known for being the quirky, Anti-pop star whose music often depicts American Pop Culture in a rather unflattering light. These days, most pop acts have a gimmick or a “thing” to compensate for a lack of voice. Marina proved on Monday night that this is simply not true about her. The Kool Haus was packed for a cold, windy Monday night and was filled with people of all ages who had drawn hearts on their faces in a trend that Marina herself started with them. Marina took the stage about 9pm with Madonna’s “Hollywood” as her introduction music. It fit the theme of her show very well as one could say, Marina’s works are like a continuation of where Madonna left off in 2003. Marina came on stage in a two-piece black skirt and halter-top and began with her semi spoken word piece “Homewrecker”. She played plenty of newer songs off of “Electra Heart” as well as some older ones off her debut “Family Jewels”. Marina’s voice is much more powerful live and occasionally flirted with operatic notes in songs such as “Obsessive” and “Fear and Loathing”. She also demonstrated musicianship when she sat down at a keyboard and played some songs acoustically and by herself. Throughout the night, Marina had two costume changes as well as many props to help visualise her story. The most dramatic of which was when she returned from the encore in a sparkly silver prom dress that would make even the prettiest of Prom Queens jealous. She had a coat rack on stage which she would very often pull hats, coats, scarves and just about anything imaginable so she could change looks without having to waste time running off-stage. She also had props such as a very massive hamburger on a tray and pompoms for “Hollywood” or a light-up heart belt for “Radioactive”. Marina’s stage presence on its own would have been engaging enough for the audience, but these props brought the show to a whole new level and made it all the more intriguing. The most memorable moment of the night was when Marina held up a toy dog that walked and balked. She proclaimed “I cannot have real pets because I’m a musician and pets die so quickly. This is my dog and I rescued her from the Betty Ford Clinic. She was addicted to meth”. The show lasted for just over an hour and everybody left the show impressed. There was a massive sing-along party outside the show afterwards while fans waited for Marina to come out and sign autographs. Even though there were a lot of people outside waiting, and it was so freezing cold, Marina came out and signed something for every single fan that was waiting. She even took some time to interact with a very young fan who was attending his very first concert with his mother. The Kid picked a very good first concert to attend as it was everything you could have ever wanted to see: Incredible voice, great stage presence and all around visually stunning.
Setlist
- Intro (Hollywood by Madonna)
- Homewrecker
- Oh No!
- Mowgli’s Road
- Lies
- I Am Not A Robot
- The State of Dreaming
- Power & Control
- Bubblegum Bitch
- Starring Role
- Obsessions
- Sex Yeah
- Valley of the Dolls
- Primadonna
- Shampain
- Hollywood
- Radioactive
- Fear and Loathing
- Teen Idle (Encore)
- How to Be a Heartbreaker (Encore)
Links