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“Everybody say ‘Free Palestine!’” Noname demands during an a capella rendition of the war-condemning, materialism-bashing track ‘Namesake’. With candor and eagerness, the crowd instantly obliges and a unified chant echoes and bounces off the walls of the west London venue. A smile flashes across her face, before she continues rapping the rest of the track: “Watch the fighter jet fly high, War machine gets glamorised”.
Noname’s newest album ‘Sundial’, released in 2023, is her third full-length project, succeeding 2018 breakout ‘Room 25’ and 2016 debut mixtape ‘Telefone’. But, after announcing that she wanted to quit music in 2019, yet sporadically releasing tracks, and also cancelling her long-anticipated 2021 album – her first tour in four years is a welcome treat for fans in the UK who are eager to know what’s next. “Who’s been here since ‘Telefone’?” she asks the crowd mid-set as thousands of voices scream back at her. She pauses, and thanks her audience for their support.
To the joy of her dedicated fans, the set is tastefully sprinkled with tracks spanning her entire discography and works. She cheekily raps J Cole diss track ‘Song 33’, hops around stage during Sundial track ‘Boomboom’, eagerly evokes crowd reaction during ‘Rainforest’ and sways with joy during encore closer ‘Shadowman’.
But most notably, the crowd is particularly receptive to many of Noname’s outwardly political lyrics. During set opener ‘Self’, the crowd scream the lyric “my pussy wrote a thesis in colonialism”; during ‘Sundial track’ ‘hold me down’, the crowd-sung lyric “first Black President and he the one that bombed us” feels louder than all others. Perhaps this impassioned chanting of lyrics it’s a reflection of our polarised political climate, or maybe it’s pure admiration for Noname’s audacious and earnest writing skills. From the atmosphere felt in the pit, it’s a healthy mix of both.
In 2019, Noname also expressed her frustration around performing to predominantly white crowds and during her return to London this evening she comments on the audience being “more white than expected”. However upon calls for Black people in the crowd, especially women, there’s a multitude of cheers roaring from across the pit and seated area, potentially signifying a slow shift in demographics from her shows in the 2010s.
At times the sound mix in the room leaves looks of disappointment across the audience hall. We’re keen to pick apart at the nuances of Noname’s tone and delivery of words – her lyricism is what helped propel her to mainstream spaces – but we’re instead met with bleeding sound from the speakers and words missed entirely. Although, this does not take away from the effort of Noname and her entire band. Her status as a multi-hyphenate performer, musician, and slam poet is solidified during this show; her dynamic stage presence and control, self-awareness, and ability to tell stories through performance keeps all eyes on her throughout.
When Lady Gaga steps onto the stage at The O2, towering above the crowd on the wide skirt of a deep red crinoline dress, it’s immediately obvious that this won’t be an ordinary Tuesday night. Known for never holding anything back, the theatrical pop visionary dives straight into world-building, transforming the arena into a surreal, camp horror setting. She faces off against another version of herself, surrounded at different moments by skeletons, witches and plague doctors.
“I must sing and build the walls to cradle my own space, and my own sound will grow the fortress of a home erased,” the two Gagas declare in unison before the grand entrance. What follows feels like a powerful reflection on the refuge and sense of belonging she has carved out with her music since her breakout moment with ‘Just Dance’ in 2008.
Aside from her newest release ‘Mayhem’, it’s the songs from her early records ‘The Fame’ (and its reissue ‘The Fame Monster’) and ‘Born This Way’ that take center stage. Although Gaga has reinvented herself many times over the years, it was those early projects and eras that built the groundwork for her artistic journey and gave her the freedom to experiment however she wished.
Lady Gaga credit: Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Live Nation
Her imagination and creative drive are fully on display tonight. One moment she’s sinking into the folds of her massive skirt, bursting out from a cage as ‘Abracadabra’ echoes around the venue. The next, she’s locked in a fierce duel with her chessboard “white queen” double during a striking performance of ‘Poker Face’. When she sings ‘Perfect Celebrity’, she moves into a sandpit, using it to show the complicated push and pull between love and resentment, gently holding and then violently gripping the skeleton lying beside her.
A breathtaking rendition of ‘Paparazzi’ keeps that feeling alive, as Gaga stumbles down the runway dressed in a white lace look partially covered with metal plates and crutches, like a knight stripped of its armor. The night is filled with imagery and layers of meaning, but she never loses sight of making it pure entertainment.
She also uses the moment to acknowledge the people who have supported her along the way. A triumphant ‘Born This Way’ becomes a tribute to the queer community. Gaga speaks from the heart, saying they have “inspired me for my whole career” and tells them, “You are so precious to me and to the world.” Sitting at the piano during the acoustic segment, she is clearly touched by the audience’s overwhelming love and takes a quiet moment to express her emotions.
Lady Gaga credit: Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Live Nation
“I feel very, very lucky to be here tonight,” she says, looking back at the first time she performed in the UK twenty years earlier. “I feel so humbled that, almost 20 years later, I’m still here.” After emotional versions of ‘Dance In The Dark’ and ‘The Edge Of Glory’, she asks the crowd, “If I come back 20 years from now – I’ll come back sooner – but will you come and see the show?”
There’s hardly a soul in the room who wouldn’t say yes, especially after a night this imaginative and flawlessly executed. Returning to full theatrical energy, Gaga leans into the absurd for ‘Bad Romance’, telling the crowd to “put your paws up” and showing off her hands with ridiculously long, sausage-like fingers, as if she’s stepped into a gothic version of a scene from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
As flames appear on top of the opera house behind her, she walks offstage and reemerges for the encore without makeup, wearing a plain black outfit and a beanie over the hair hidden beneath countless wigs throughout the show. It’s a quiet nod to the person behind all the spectacle, but still part of the performance. Like everything she’s done tonight, it’s executed with complete precision and heart.
