Marina And The Diamonds
Lonely Hearts Club Tour
HMV Forum Kentish Town
George Reed
 |
| Marina Live On Stage At The Forum |
Having spent nearly 3 months as the warm-up act for Coldplay
on their recent
Mylo Xyloto tour, it was
about time Marina And The Diamonds got a tour of her own. With two albums under
her belt and a collection of top ten singles, Marina has more than enough
material to fill a stage. Titled the
Lonely
Hearts Club Tour, Marina has been slowly making her way around the UK since
September, to her only London date at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town on 11
th
October.
But before making her grand entrance, Marina called upon Foxes to warm up the crowd as her supporting
act. The solo singer, with her youthful and grand voice, was a good sign of
things to come, both for their upcoming album as well as for the calibre of
vocals this evening. But, as good as Foxes
were, the audience were there for one female voice in particular as they
stared up to the empty stage.
The blackened stage then lit up in a pink neon soaked haze, as
Electra Heart, the title to Marina’s
second album inscribed in neon lights, flickered into life. “Every boyfriend is the one, until otherwise
proven” Marina told the crowd, as she gracefully walked on from the side of
the stage to the opening lines of Heartbreaker.
Wearing a white wedding veil and carrying a bouquet of flowers, Marina’s
alter ego, Electra Heart had fully
arrived. As the chorus beat dropped, the stage lighting exploded into an array
of colours and Marina/Electra tossed the bouquet into the excitable crowd below
her. The Petshop Boys style track was a great way to start the gig, instantly
whipping the crowd into a frenzy. Quickly losing the veil, and with it Electra, Marina went straight into Oh No! a fun and flippant track from her
first album The Family Jewels. The
onstage band, consisting of a drummer, two keyboard/synth players and two
guitarists, were clearly enjoying the gig already, playing with such gusto they
nearly drowned out Marina’s vocals. But there was never really a chance of this
happening, as Marina’s voice effortlessly filled The Forum. After getting the
audience to “Cuckoo” with her during Mowgli’s
Road, the pace was then slowed down for emotional love-loss ballad Lies. Its powerful lyrics struck a chord
with the crowd, and this swapping from upbeat pop to soulful ballad was
something Marina did several times during the night. Most notably was when she
ushered away her keyboardist, taking the seat herself to play a beautiful
striped down version of Obsessions. After
the first costume change of the night, Marina brought out her fierce side with
the biting Power & Control and Bubblegum Bitch, which she described as
her personal favourite of the night.
The centre of the stage was
dominated by a mini set piece inspired by 50’s Hollywood, with a red chez
longue garnished with a white fluffy heart pillow, besides an elegant clothes
stand and an antique black and white TV. Below all of this was Marina’s “Prop
Cupboard”, which she used with delight. But things took a turn for the surreal
when Marina introduced another prop, this time a walking yapping wind-up dog. She
then proceeded to explain to the bemused crowd how she had rescued the dog from
a life in the gutters, giving it a job in her music video for Primadonna. Being one of Marina’s
biggest hits from Electra Heart, Primadonna gained one of the loudest
sing-a-longs of the night, with the crowd screaming every line of the chorus. Hollywood, Marina’s first single,
produced similar scenes, as the crowd jumped and cheered while Marina whipped a
Pom-Pom round her head. The euro-pop style of Radioactive was the biggest dance hit of the night, a stark
contrast to following track Fear and
Loathing. This epic ballad brought a hush throughout The Forum and an end
to the night, with Marina leaving the stage, followed by her band, much to the
sadness of the crowd. “Marina! Marina!” the Diamonds (Marina’s name for her
fans) chanted, louder and louder each time. On she returned, and with her
another costume change. But before playing any more hits, Marina first said how
special it was to be back in London and to have her dad in the stands. She then
surprised him (And the crowd) by revealing it was his birthday, before singing
Happy Birthday to him, along with the 2,000 or so audience members. It won’t be
on any other set list for her tour, and made the gig extra special. Marina then finished the night with her
latest single How To Be A Heartbreaker. Its
plucking guitars chords and electronic bass line erupts during the chorus, with
bold primary coloured lights flying around Marina’s stage. It was a great way
to end the night, with the Marina jumping around on stage as much as her
Diamonds.
There were a few tracks missing
from the set list:
Living Dead; Hermit
The Frog and most notably
Lonely Hearts
Club, which the tour was named after. But the songs chosen were still
Marina’s strongest, showcasing every side of her vocals. In fact she so
effortlessly filled the stage with her voice and personality that it didn’t
matter which songs she chose from her back catalog.
Marina ended the night by thanking everyone
for making it her best gig yet, a view which was surely shared with the every
Diamond in the crowd.
