A little while back, Freedom Spark were invited along to Marina & the Diamonds’ ‘Lonely Hearts Tour’ at the Tabernacle, in London. The Tabernacle itself, could only be described as a mini Royal Albert Hall, or maybe even
the Roundhouse. Situated slap bang in the suburbs of Notting Hill, we almost thought for a second that the queue for the Lonely Hearts Tour was leading into one of the surrounding houses, and wondered if we’d actually been invited to some kind of house party instead.The most surprising thing about the venue, once we were inside, was how tiny it was! When you’re a fan of an artist, as I am of Marina, you kind of lose sight of how mainstream ‘popular’ or dare I say ‘unpopular’ they might be. With Marina’s great stage presence and zany look – that could even rival Katy Perry – it’s sometimes easy to forget that she actually still has a relatively small, but dedicated, following of Diamonds.

Despite the intimate venue, it seems Marina’s roadie was determined to exaggerate Marina’s popster presence by over-enthusiastically setting up her scene, to the extent of shining her signature heart shaped sunglasses. This may have led the crowd to wonder whether the diva characteristics of alter-ego Electra Heart may have rubbed of on Marina.

 

However, as soon as Marina came on stage it was obvious that she was still her down-to-earth self – at one point, even changing outfits on-stage, claiming it as the ‘indie industry outfit change’. Her constant interaction with the crowd made the 200-300 people venue feel even smaller, and kept her adoring fans very happy.

True to some of her very first on-stage performances, Marina had a varied selection of props, some of which may have been inspired by her recent stint supporting Katy Perry on the California Dreams tour. These varied from a faux giant hamburger, a wide range of pageant style banners with witty phrases such as ‘Shellfish Beach’ written on them, and of course her trusty canine companion Marilyn – who according to one journalist, she
revealed, looks like she needs a wash!

 

The setlist itself was a seamless blend of old and new material, even including one of her very first tracks ‘Obsessions’. It seems to me that Marina likes to throw in some of her older material, as almost a dedication to the Diamonds who have followed her from the beginning and helped her get where she is today.

 

Setlist:

Homewrecker
Oh No!
Mowgli’s Road
Lies
I Am Not A Robot

State of Dreaming

Power & Control
Bubblegum Bitch
Starring Role
Obsessions
Hypocrates
Primadonna
Shampain
Radioactive

—

Teen Idle
Fear & Loathing
Hollywood

 

Words: Louise Thomas