‘I’m not sure it’s for me’: What happened when I took my dad to Lizzo
By Em Meller
MUSIC
Lizzo ★★★★
Qudos Bank Arena, July 23
Before coming with me to the Lizzo show, Dad had a few questions: What is the dress code? Will it be cold? Are you bringing glow sticks?
The dress code, it turns out, is sequins.
Bringing Dad to Lizzo seemed like a good idea.Credit: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images
The Qudos Bank Arena is at capacity for Lizzo’s first of two Sydney shows, off the back of headlining Splendour in the Grass. And all around the stadium is the gentle glint of sequinned clothing.
“My first concert in 10 years,” Dad tells the bartender. “Last one was The Cars, I think.” I had told him nothing about Lizzo and instructed my sister to do the same. But as the lights go down, I wonder if I’ve made a mistake.
When Lizzo comes out in a neon-green woven leather gown and sunglasses, Dad looks a little bewildered. Two young children in front of us are jumping up and down, arms stretched over their heads. Everyone is singing: “Cause I looooove you.”
After her first three songs, the crowd cheers so loud and for so long even Lizzo seems surprised. The children are still screaming, and so is a middle-aged man next to us. When people finally calm down, she asks: “Is it time to throw a little bit of ass?”
When I look over, Dad is smiling politely.
Before Special Lizzo asks everyone to turn to their neighbour and tell them they are special.
“You are special,” I tell Dad.
It is hard to think of another performer who invests so much in her audience.Credit: Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images
“Alright,” he says.
“You’re meant to say it back.”
“Oh,” he says. “OK.”
Everyone expects a Lizzo show to be high energy, but what is most striking is her generosity as a performer. Tempo comes with a recorded message from Missy Elliott. There is a guided meditation, an appearance from her famous tiny bag, and several from Sasha Flute (Lizzo’s diamante-encrusted flute).
These flourishes are not just Lizzo showing off: they are for her fans. And it is hard to think of another performer who invests so much in her audience. Lizzo makes her music for them, explicitly. It’s music that they can dance to, and can sing to each other on birthdays or during Pride.
When someone hands her a recorder, she plays a few bars from My Heart Will Go On. When they ask her to “do a shoey”, she drinks tequila from her boot (though, technically, she doesn’t pour it into her shoe). And when she reads her fans’ signs, giving each of them a moment in the spotlight, more than one is reduced to tears.
Whether her music is visionary or even cool is to miss the point of Lizzo. As we are leaving the stadium, Dad, surprisingly, sums it up: “I’m not sure it’s for me. But I understand the church of Lizzo.”
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