Neon Nature Takes London
Neon Nature is the name of Marina Diamandis' new tour and it's something she takes to heart, literally. Diamandis — better known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds — pranced out on stage at exactly nine o'clock wearing a neon pink latex body suit with a cape flowing behind her.
Without missing a beat, the band started playing Mowgli's Road, a title from her first album in 2011. Minutes later, after the audience started getting riled up, Marina moved on to Oh No!, obviously a fan favorite judged by how everyone started going nuts. Only two songs into the show and the teenage girls who make up the majority of Marina's fan base were already amped up.
Image Credit: marinaandthediamonds.com
Unexpectedly, Marina suddenly changed the pace and moved into a slower lyrical song, Obsessions, lulling the audience into a dreamy state. Nobody knew what to do except awkwardly sway back and forth and sing along. But just when things seemed to be slowing down, she energized the crowd with Hollywood, finishing off the first part of the concert with a bang.
"For those of you who haven't been to a Neon Nature concert before," Marina said as she took a swig from a water bottle, "the concert is divided into three acts." Each act turned out to be based on one of her three albums. She started off with The Family Jewels, followed by her second album, Electra Heart.
Marina proceeded through her most recognized songs —Bubblegum Bitch, Teen Idle, How to Be a Heartbreaker, Primadonna, and Lies —from Electra Heart, her most successful album. As the second act finished off, it seemed the crowd was beginning to tire of the whiplash. Anyone familiar with Marina's songs would know the stark difference in song choice. While the transition between the different levels of intensity was well done, many in the audience were questioning why she chose the slower paced songs in the first place.
As Marina finished off the finale of the second act with Lies — another piece the audience wasn't jiving with — she disappeared from the stage for several minutes. The guitarist filled the tension-filled silence with a solo before the lights went out completely. Then, in blast of rainbow light, Marina strutted onto the stage shining in another skin-tight body suit. But this time it was covered in dark blue glitter. Naturally, to top off the extravaganza that Neon Nature is meant to convey, she was crowned with a glitter-covered, giant blueberry. This also lead to what came next: her third, and most recent album, FROOT.
Image Credit: marinaandthediamonds.com
She started off with the upbeat, dance song the album was named after — Froot — before moving on to Savages, Can't Pin Me Down, Solitary, I'm a Ruin, Forget, and Immortal. Then, anticlimactically, she raised her hands in the air, shouted her thanks to London, and left the stage. The lights went dark and crowd started chanting "Marina!", calling for their idol return. And return she did. A single white light shone onto center stage where Marina sat at the piano, still in her glitter body suit, and began to play. The audience cheered, instantly recognizing the song, Happy, a ballad from FROOT. The crowd began to sing along and, as the song came to a close, Marina stood up and told the audience how grateful she was for her fans.
"It's taken us so long to get here and I am so proud of us," Marina choked, tears spilling down her cheeks as the audience cheered her on. She thanked everyone for coming to see the finale of her UK tour. "I am Marina and you are the Diamonds," she exclaimed before wrapping it all up to one of her fans' favorites: Blue.
Image Credit: marinaandthediamonds.com
Marina and The Diamonds' European Tour is coming to France at Tourcoing's Le Grand Mix on Sunday 28 February. Europe is the last leg of Neon Nature before Marina moves on to music festivals such as Lollapalooza and other global dates.
