Lana Del Rey - Amoeba Music - 2/7/12 (With Photos)

By Falling James Wed., Feb. 8 2012 at 9:07 AM

Timothy Norris

Lana Del Rey
Amoeba Music
2-7-12

Better Than... peering through the windows of a candy store.

Perhaps as a sign of her growing musical and magical powers, Lana Del Rey brought her own weather with her to Amoeba Music. L.A.'s currently going through one of its driest and mildest winters in recent memory, but the sky clouded up all afternoon, and a light rain fell outside during the melancholy diva's five-song set at the hangar-size Hollywood record emporium.

Storm clouds of a different nature have been stubbornly pursuing the artist formerly known as Lizzy Grant, even as her three national and international labels (Interscope, Polydor and Stranger) stoke the publicity machine and her new Born to Die album sprints up the charts. Like Obama fending off the accusations of birthers, Del Rey is dogged by questions of authenticity from a newly ravenous pack of critics who claim to be shocked that a pop singer would change her name and reinvent herself.

Timothy Norris

But the thousand-some fans who lined up for hours outside the store were just fine with Del Rey's back story, mythic or not. The line stretched more than two blocks down Ivar Avenue, all the way past De Longpre Avenue. The ones who did make it into the store were on her side from the moment she stepped on to the small stage and murmured, "I only sing for you," to start the show. As she ruefully intoned the opening lines of the first song, the album's title track, several girls shouted out "I love you, Lana!" while others screamed like teenyboppers whenever Del Rey did something as simple as shake her hair. But everyone either gasped or cheered when she sang one of the tune's original lyrics, "Let me fuck you hard in the pouring rain."

Wearing those infamous blue jeans and a white short-sleeve button-up shirt, Del Rey was dressed down, perhaps in response to that persistent subset of detractors who insist that she only cares about her image. She was deftly supported by just a pianist and a guitarist, but she didn't need much backing. Her rich, sad voice easily filled the cavernous room, rounding off the high ceiling's tinny corners with a suffusion of liquid warmth.

Timothy Norris

Any fears that Del Rey was merely a studio creation were quickly extinguished as she sang songs like "Blue Jeans" with power and verve. She really wasn't bad at all during her recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, despite the savaging she received in some quarters, but she was more forceful and confident at Amoeba.

She asked for more reverb before playing "Video Games," but the effect wasn't needed to cover up any vocal deficiencies. Instead, the extra reverb gave Del Rey a deeper and more mysterious galaxy for that dreamy voice to loll around in.

The tragic/romantic "Video Games" was more haunting than despairing, its melody lingering reproachfully in the air, the ghost of a long-lost and steadfast lover. Del Rey steadfastly thanked the overflow crowd for sticking by her during her recent controversies.

She didn't have to mention them -- besides the SNL dust-up, the singer has been publicly scolded for everything from her family background to the shape of her lips, with a bizarre vehemence that's usually reserved for politicians.

Location Info

Venue

Map

Amoeba Music

6400 Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Category: Music

34 user reviews	Write A Review
Save to foursquare

Tags:

Amoeba Music, Lana Del Rey, Saturday Night Live

We Recommend

William Keenan

Phish>Lana Del Rey

Hamwatam

"The tragic/romantic "Video Games" was more haunting than despairing, its melody lingering reproachfully in the air, the ghost of a long-lost and steadfast lover."

HAHA! This is hilarious.

mypapertiger

Falling James, this is not about sexism ever heard of Joni Mitchell, Gaga, Tori Amos, Tina Arena, Cilla Black, Patsy Cline, Enya, Carole King, Peggy Lee, Courtney Love, Lulu, Pink, Queen Latifah, Sandie Shaw, Dusty Springfield, Donna Summer, Tina Turner, Bonnie Tyler, Tammy Wynette, Kitty Wells some of the many women in music who also changed their names. Your sexist, change of name, inauthentic argument is looking weak!! People trying to say the backlash is against a stage name are just trying to whitewash what it's really about. Isn't it really about her selling herself to the world as a self made alternative artist who had no help with money....... when all the time she was backed by the music industry, her wealthy father and online media team shore fire media, she wasn't other worldly she was rammed down everyone's throats.The fact all this was going on before she even got uploaded is enough to make her inauthentic.

Mig

Long history of musical acts that were "manufactured" by the music industry or marketers, but then went on to be successful in their own right. The Monkees were a fabrication for a TV show as a riff on the Beatles, but they released several albums and had several memorable hit songs. The Sex Pistols were essentially the creation of promoter and impresario Malcolm McLaren. Lots of other examples exist.

And then there are the Milli Vanillis of the world.

BOTTOM LINE:

If you like Lana Del Rey's music, buy her album. Listen to it. Enjoy it. It doesn't matter what the F she wants to call herself or what persona she takes on. If you don't like her music, don't listen to it. Don't buy it. Why all the criticism of her when she is simply following a road well traveled by those that went before her? Get a life.

You are sorely mistake. Her SNL performance was a disaster.

MKC

love her or hate her, she's got EVERYONE talking. props to Del Ray

irie patrick

well here's the difference...david bowie's change of image was a more organic artistic evolution unlike lizzy's transformation which was engineered by a marketing team and her dad's wealth. also he changed his named so as to avoid confusion with davy jones of the monkees. additionally bowie had real singing and songwriting chops not to mention a ton of charisma...