Okay, so yesterday I saw Marina and the Diamonds at Webster Hall as part of the Governor’s Ball: After Dark. She. Is. Amazing.
The day began with me spending an hour on extremely colorful and bright FROOT inspired eye shadow and covering myself with glitter. A morning well spent. I finally got to us that big ass Coastal Scents rainbow palette that I never thought I would use. Bless.
After waiting on line for three freaking hours and borderline having an anxiety attack when the guards went down the row checking ID (me and my concert buddy were 18 and the concert was 19+), we were finally let into the venue. Thank God the venue was not super strict on the 19+.
There was no opening act, it was just some DJ playing throwback jams like “Promiscuous Girl” and “London Bridge”. We were about four rows of people from the stage and there were blue and purple lights with a giant light-up inflatable blueberry.
Okay, first of all, let’s discuss her outfit. She had a hot pink and black vertical-striped lame catsuit with the top unzipped a little bit (she mentioned it in this interview!). She has a literal hourglass figure and then, to top it off, an iridescent Lucite hairband with “Froot” across the top. Stunning. She was so close to us and kept walking around the stage, leaning into the crowd.
She started with Bubblegum Bitch and she literally performed a bunch of good old songs AND every song on FROOT except for the four songs I like the least. It felt like the set list was basically made for me.
The best ones were definitely “Lies” and “Forget”, they were so jammy. She was adorable when she spoke and kept mentioning how she loved New York. She also asked us to sing the other parts in “Better Than That” and it was lovely. She played piano for “Happy” but, although I love the song, I think it was my least favorite song performed live.
Aside from having to elbow some rude pushy guy and telling him to get the bleep out of here, the crowd was lively and generally not super obnoxious. Everyone in the crowd pretty much had sparkling fruit headpieces, gems on their face or fruit-themed clothing it was fantastic.
The concert merch was quite unimpressive because technically she’s not on tour now but I did get this awesome T-shirt for $35 and it has her Immortal (?) photo in full color all across the shirt. Unfortunately her name is nowhere to be found on it. They also had one other boring shirt, a canvas bag, a sweatshirt with “FROOT” on it and fabric FROOT wristbands.
She closed with “How to Be A Heartbreaker” and mentioned her upcoming Neon Nature tour this fall. She is the best concert I have seen—I sang and danced to every song and she is literally gorgeous in person. I could not believe it.
Anyway, let me end this with some advice for a Marina & the Diamonds concert:
1- Wear something fantastic.
Everyone on line was dressed to impress. DIY headpieces with fruit, bright clothing, colorful makeup…wear something funky! Of course, you can wear whatever you wish, but the majority of people I saw were incredibly colorful and cool looking. The vibe was amazing.
2- If you are 18 but the concert is 19+, you will probably get in.
I can’t speak for every show, but at Webster Hall it was 19+ and we were 18. The security guard could not give less of a shit. They were looking for fake IDs, not to see if you were a few months shy of being old enough for the show. I worried so much about getting in, but it was worth buying tickets and taking the risk!
3- If you want to be close to the stage, get there HOURS early.
We got there three hours before doors opened (the doors opened at 10) and although waiting sucked, we were super close to the stage. If you want to be anywhere close to the stage, you must get there at least two and a half hours early but it also depends on the venue. This venue was fairly small—bigger venues might require getting there even earlier.
4- Buy snacks for waiting on line.
Especially if you get there early. Snacks are a necessity but remember not to drink too much because if you have to pee, you could lose your spot.
5- Don’t bring a damn backpack.
I could have done without the girl in front of me’s backpack pushing against me for an hour. Bring a VERY TINY backpack or a crossbody. Please.
6- Buy merch before the show or be prepared to wait.
The merch stand was mobbed after the show and a lot of stuff could have been sold out. I bought my shirt right before the show very quickly because I knew what I wanted and how much it was from looking online.
This concert was seriously one of the best nights ever.
Have you seen Marina & the Diamonds live?
