After a typical infuriating day of bureaucratic bungling between and amongst more official German departments we were glad to go out to the Lana Del Rey concert this evening.
Tickets for the concert were originally priced at about 50 Euros each. Thinking this was a bit pricey we left it for a bit. The concert was originally scheduled to be held at the Tempodrom (Kreuzberg) but due to ticket demand was moved to the Veledrom (Prenzlauer Berg).
By last week I had decided I really wanted to go to this concert so started to look online (eBay). I was able to get two tickets for just under 50 Euros...score!
The Velodrom is very easy to get to from our apartment, just the M10 tram up to Prenzlauer Berg and then a very short walk to the stadium.
The Velodrom itself is hidden underneath a huge donut ring of earth. To get inside you need to walk up the steps which make up the side of the bunker and this brings you level with the Veledrom roof. Very interesting.
Inside we went to our allotted seats but there were already two stubborn Germans sitting there. Despite me saying seat 19 and 20 were ours, they replied 'Yes this is seat 19' and refused to move! Talking to the ushers they just told us to go to another block and sit there instead. This confusion was because of the move of venue from Tempodrom to Velodrom, where some of the blocks became 'first in best dressed free seating'.
We moved to the other block and had better seats there anyway.
As the name suggests, this venue is a purpose built velodrome. This cycle track was covered with a black fabric yet it was still easy to see it dividing the main stands from the floor area.
The warm up band was Kassidy and we thought they were really boring! Lana Del Rey is apparently in a relationship with the front man of this group and that was the most interesting thing about them. Sorry.
In the interlude after Kassidy had played was some horrible screechy music - maybe a film noir soundtrack given Del Rey's musical influences.
Lana Del Rey came out about 9:15pm and finally we had some good music! The sound was beautifully lush and the acoustics in the Velodrom pretty good. She was dressed in a vintage looking dress and had a low bouffant hairstyle befitting her mainstream image. Her band consisted of a drummer, guitar, bass, keyboards and a small string section.
As Lana Del Rey came out to a very welcoming crowd she almost immediately went down to the front of the stage to meet the fans. Singing the whole time, she greeted the front row, shaking hands and accepting gifts. She did this so effortlessly and flawlessly - it was beautifully done. Some lucky guy even scored a kiss :)
Getting home was just as easy as getting there. The hardest part was getting out of the Velodrom as this bunker appears to have limited the amount of exits up to the surface.
Tickets for the concert were originally priced at about 50 Euros each. Thinking this was a bit pricey we left it for a bit. The concert was originally scheduled to be held at the Tempodrom (Kreuzberg) but due to ticket demand was moved to the Veledrom (Prenzlauer Berg).
By last week I had decided I really wanted to go to this concert so started to look online (eBay). I was able to get two tickets for just under 50 Euros...score!
The Velodrom is very easy to get to from our apartment, just the M10 tram up to Prenzlauer Berg and then a very short walk to the stadium.
The Velodrom itself is hidden underneath a huge donut ring of earth. To get inside you need to walk up the steps which make up the side of the bunker and this brings you level with the Veledrom roof. Very interesting.
Inside we went to our allotted seats but there were already two stubborn Germans sitting there. Despite me saying seat 19 and 20 were ours, they replied 'Yes this is seat 19' and refused to move! Talking to the ushers they just told us to go to another block and sit there instead. This confusion was because of the move of venue from Tempodrom to Velodrom, where some of the blocks became 'first in best dressed free seating'.
We moved to the other block and had better seats there anyway.
As the name suggests, this venue is a purpose built velodrome. This cycle track was covered with a black fabric yet it was still easy to see it dividing the main stands from the floor area.
The warm up band was Kassidy and we thought they were really boring! Lana Del Rey is apparently in a relationship with the front man of this group and that was the most interesting thing about them. Sorry.
In the interlude after Kassidy had played was some horrible screechy music - maybe a film noir soundtrack given Del Rey's musical influences.
Lana Del Rey came out about 9:15pm and finally we had some good music! The sound was beautifully lush and the acoustics in the Velodrom pretty good. She was dressed in a vintage looking dress and had a low bouffant hairstyle befitting her mainstream image. Her band consisted of a drummer, guitar, bass, keyboards and a small string section.
As Lana Del Rey came out to a very welcoming crowd she almost immediately went down to the front of the stage to meet the fans. Singing the whole time, she greeted the front row, shaking hands and accepting gifts. She did this so effortlessly and flawlessly - it was beautifully done. Some lucky guy even scored a kiss :)
Throughout the show she didn't say much but did mention she had been trying to get to Berlin for ages (they always say that!) and that they were excited to be here as this is where she got her first record deal.
Lana Del Rey is a relatively new artist so she doesn't have a big catalogue to draw from. She sung all songs people wanted to hear (maybe all of her songs total?) Including 'Born to Die', 'Blue Jeans', 'Summertime Sadness' and of course her big hit 'Video Games'. The show was also supplemented with a cover of Nirvana's 'Heart Shaped Box' and the classic 'Blue Velvet'.
The staging for the show was quite simple but extremely effective. Each song backed by visuals that complemented her film noir, 50's 60's Americana that represent her musical and visual aesthetic.
Towards the end of the show (about and hour and a half) she went back into the audience. Again, singing the whole time flawlessly and this time signing autographs.
We were really impressed with this concert, her vocal ability and how good her band was. There was no mucking about with an encore and the lights come on so we all left. Much better that way than the usual contrived encore that most other artists out us through!
Getting home was just as easy as getting there. The hardest part was getting out of the Velodrom as this bunker appears to have limited the amount of exits up to the surface.
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