Project Description
RITA ORA
Palais Theatre
01/03/19
Reviewer: Kelsey Hentschel
.
.
.
British pop singer Rita Ora hit Australian shores in promotion of her sophomore album ‘Phoenix’, which after much anticipation was finally released last year. The singer kicked off her world tour in Melbourne at St Kilda’s iconic Palais Theatre. With over six years since her debut album release, Ora’s first Australian shows have been long awaited by her masses of adoring fans.
The evening began much like a theatre show, having the venue flash the lights and exclaim the concert was to begin shortly. Being a fully seated venue, we all to our allocated seats & awaited the performance. Dramatic bass heavy music and curling smoke welcomed the main act, Rita Ora. The Albanian born pop princess strutted out centre stage with the confidence of someone who’s been in the game for a while. Without missing a beat Ora jumped straight into ‘For You’ from the ‘Fifty Shades Freed’ soundtrack. The film series which Rita made acting career debut. And with that we were off…
.
.
Record high temperatures and state-wide bushfires over the weekend saw crowds grasping at their water bottles trying to stay cool in the sweltering heat of the theatre. It was steamy in venue before the show had even begun. I struggled to make it through the entirety of the show in the heat & I have to tip my cap to the performers for putting on such an energetic show despite the insane heat!
Understandably crowds at these theatre venues can take a bit of coaxing to get up out of their seats, but for Ora there was no wavering. Despite the heat & despite the awkward standing room, fans were up and dancing along to hit after hit. The pop icon smashed through her number one songs, ‘Your Song’, ‘Doing It’ and ‘Let You Love Me’. She introduced ‘Let You Love Me’ with an invitation to her fans to join in, however every single in the crowd sang too early! It was funny to watch Ora singing the correct timing over the crowd’s wrong interpretation.
Throughout the show fans were holding up signs and flags paying homage to Rita Ora’s Albanian roots. Ora was so blown away by this, she even took a minute to explain to us less knowledgeable fans what the flags meant and why it was such a big deal for her to be on the other side of the world. It’s always pretty easy to spot the “Stans” from the regular fans. In this case the devoted hardcore fans, or “stans” were all throwing their hands up into the air to resemble the shape of a bird (a Phoenix). Rita would throw up the same hand gestures back. So many people were doing it, it seemed like a really cool identifier for the singer to spot her devoted fanbase. Fans knew the popular radio hits, while the “Stans” knew every word to the entire setlist.
.
.
While taking a break in-between songs, Ora mentioned that it was a deliberate choice to kick off the tour in Australia because, “You guys are fucking fun” she exclaimed, pointing out & interacting with many individuals in the crowd, and constantly paying extra attention to audience members all the way up the back, Rita knew how to make her fans feel seen & special.
Despite a fun filled energetic show, the opening night did not go off without a hitch. Ora graciously apologised for the few technical difficulties including a lot of microphone feedback and a few seconds of complete audio shutdown. I can let the technical problems slide, however there was something missing from the overall performance. I needed something more from the pop princess. While the singer blew me away with her vocal talent, I was not drawn in by her stage presence. Chalk it up to first show of the tour, but there was something off about the show. Ora often left the stage during lengthy interludes, which seemed to be a perfect opportunity for a costume change or something equally surprising. However she would return on stage in the same outfit, having made very minor adjustments, an added belt, some costume fringe removed etc. It lead us to question what was the point?
Ora put on a brave face and pushed through the rest of show, she had begun to show signs of fatigue. Finally concluding with ‘Anywhere’. Surprised to not have undergone the typical encore charade with that last hit we were done. No tease of an exit. Nothing. It’s typical for Australia to be last (or at least at the very end) of an international artists’ tour agenda therefore by the time a tour reaches us we are met with a sleek well-rehearsed performance. This in mind I think Ora deserves the benefit of the doubt. Write this show off as a first pancake scenario. I just hope that by the next time she comes to Australia, we’ll see her show as faultless as it was envisioned. Until next time….
.
.
