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The post Dua Lipa Remains Tastefully Extra at \u201cRadical Optimism Tour\u201d Stop in New York: Review + Photos<\/a> appeared first on Consequence<\/a>.<\/p>\n During the first of her four nights at New York City\u2019s Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, September 17th, Dua Lipa<\/a> stopped and took it all in. From a raised platform about 20 feet in the air, the pop star reflected on her love for the city and its premier venue, expressing gratitude to be back headlining The Garden once again. She had been in the exact position \u2014 literally \u2014 in 2022, on a raised platform high in the air that weaved back and forth throughout the arena as she performed \u201cLevitating\u201d during her \u201cFuture Nostalgia Tour.\u201d<\/a> Three years later, there she was again, high above us all, commanding us to dance. Has anything changed?<\/p>\n Quite a bit, but at the Dua Lipa show, it\u2019s all relative. The star\u2019s \u201cRadical Optimism Tour\u201d<\/a> is an advancement from her prior US outing in some ways, but certain tent poles of the Dua Lipa live experience remain unchanged. For one, it is every bit a showcase of her catalog as it is an ecstatic, celebratory dance party, each song somehow groovier than the last. Certain songs were presented in similar fashion as her prior outing: \u201cOne Kiss,\u201d \u201cElectricity,\u201d and \u201cHallucinate\u201d were center stage club moments, while \u201cPhysical\u201d was once again an energetic \u201980s workout video come to life.<\/p>\n Get Dua Lipa Tickets Here<\/a><\/p>\n But above all, Dua Lipa continues to be tastefully extra. A lot like the tour before it, this concert had all the bells and whistles of a great pop show \u2014 and then some. I counted six costume changes and just as many confetti explosions. There were moments of casual\u00a0pyro, not always at the climax of songs but sometimes straight in the middle of one. The songs\u2019 movements were elaborate, the choreography gripping and occasionally silly (the \u2018lets all hold hands and skip in a circle\u2019 dance moment at the conclusion of \u201cElectricity\u201d was both hilarious and strangely moving). The \u201cFuture Nostalgia\u201d run remains supreme, but this new \u201cRadical Optimism\u201d endeavor is its own beast entirely \u2014 a more confident, more playful, and somehow even more joyous celebration.<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest variable in the mix this time around are Lipa\u2019s various crowd engagements<\/a> and cover<\/a> renditions<\/a>. The latter has been a particularly rewarding move for her, using each city as an opportunity to honor its rich musical output while also just trying something new and risky.<\/p>\n For last night\u2019s show, Lipa seemed genuinely nervous to bust out her nightly cover, telling the audience that her choice was personal (while also being a generally challenging song to sing) and revealing that it would be Alicia Keys\u2019 \u201cNo One.\u201d She then played a video of her singing \u201cNo One\u201d as an adolescent before launching into her cover, which was a treat; Keys and Lipa have settled on very different styles of music, but they both have a powerful, commanding range and an unmistakeable touch of rasp. It would have been extra special to see Keys join her for the rendition, but alas, maybe for Night Two.<\/p>\n The main unpredictable segment of the concert, however, was a mid-show moment where Lipa made her way to the B-stage and stopped to chat and take selfies with fans at the barricade. So many artists do fan interactions during their show, but it\u2019s often during a song or off-handedly from the stage. I couldn\u2019t have been the only one who felt slightly nervous watching Lipa stroll through the crowd and engage with her most enthusiastic fans for not just a minute, but a full 10-15 minute segment. No music, no security guard dividing Lipa and her audience; just a barricade, a camera man, and Lipa\u2019s casual charm.<\/p>\n You have to be so utterly confident to open yourself up to the unpredictable mid-show, to let others speak directly into your microphone and essentially say anything. It\u2019s impressive from a\u00a0social level that she\u2019s been doing this so publicly at every stop of the tour, and luckily, her faith in her fans was endearing last night; when Lipa spoke to one incredibly enthusiastic fan and asked how she was enjoying the show, the woman responded \u201cI CANNOT HEAR WHAT YOU ARE SAYING\u201d (yes, in all caps), and the arena erupted with laughter.<\/p>\n It was a sweet, wholesome moment that stuck out within a concert that had a lot of highlights. When watching Lipa\u2019s show, it\u2019s easy to see her as an enigma, a symbol of beauty and prowess, so magnetic that she feels like a fictional character in a TV show about a great pop star. But this segment with her and her fans was a really lovely reminder that of course, she\u2019s human, she\u2019s funny, and she shares the same passion as her most devoted audience members.<\/p>\n There were several other aspects to the production that really worked in Dua\u2019s favor. The lighting was generally outstanding; a large infinity-shaped ring of light wrapped around the stage, with it forming the crest of a wave right at the center. It led to some dazzling visuals, especially as the aesthetic themes that accompanied each song transformed from one into another.<\/p>\n What\u00a0didn\u2019t exactly work, however, was the show\u2019s intro. There was definitely an aquatic theme at play, in line with the\u00a0Radical Optimism album cover and the aforementioned \u2018wave of light\u2019 streaking across center stage. But the show began with a particular long and meditative into, where lush, watery tones and images of waves crashing in slow motion played for almost a full 10 minutes before Lipa started singing. It was as if we started the show at the Whale Room<\/a> from the Museum of Natural History, and even as the pre-show soundtrack grew in dynamics, it still felt like we were supposed to be closing our eyes and imagining ourselves in the middle of the ocean.<\/p>\n I\u2019m all for an immersive opening, but then Lipa finally arrived onstage and began the show with \u201cTraining Season,\u201d which was totally incongruous (both musically and thematically) to the whole ocean vibe being cultivated. She had to play \u201cTraining Season,\u201d of course, but it was not the strongest opening track either; it\u2019s at such a high part of her voice, and she performed the first verse so slowly, that it set us off on the wrong foot for the start of the show. Also, this aquatic-style theme totally disappeared throughout the concert, never to be reprised for the various Radical Optimism tracks she performed.<\/p>\n Eventually, as the show\u2019s movements unfolded and Dua found her stride, the evening transformed into what a Dua Lipa concert should be: an absorbing spectacle and a hell of a lot of fun. By the time she was back on that elevated platform, confetti cannons blazing and the crowd dancing below, it was clear that while plenty has changed since 2022, her ability to turn Madison Square Garden into her personal dance floor remains wonderfully, reliably intact.<\/p>\n Consequence may earn an affiliate commission via purchases made through links on this article.<\/p>\n Popular Posts<\/p>\n