Four stars.
A Technicolor stage set of palm trees and plastic lions might seem appropriate for Lana Del Rey given she has been criticised for dressing up and playing pop star, but stage persona or not, tonight Del Rey is radiant and her audience – upgraded to the SECC due to popular demand – is mesmerised.
Opening with the provocative Cola and accompanied by a superb string section and small band Del Rey exudes confidence – no surprise perhaps as tonight is a homecoming of sorts (deftly set up by an impressive support set from Scottish folk rock band Kassidy who, like Lana, root their sound in Americana albeit with rousing guitars and joyous catchy choruses) and after all Glasgow is a city she calls her "second home" – a given now that she and city born Kassidy guitarist Barrie James O'Neill have been romantically linked.
And it's most definitely love – from her adoring fans anyway, as they squeal with delight through the spooked out hip hop beats of Blue Jeans; swooning at Del Rey's impressive falsetto.
Her reputation for reinvention is reinforced with cover versions of Dylan's Knockin' on Heaven's Door and Blue Velvet – straight, sublime and just a little creepy. David Lynch would approve.
Heavy-hearted strings and pretty piano chords soar through Ride, Del Rey's first single from the deluxe Paradise reissue of Born To Die, and the title track with its weighty percussion and awesome brand-Lana pop construction soars and fills the auditorium.
But it's The Great Gatsby track Young and Beautiful with its seductive dark melody that steals the night and casts a powerful spell over the audience – much like the singer herself.
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