Feb 22, 20184 min read

LA to the Moon Tour

Photo by Mickey Johnson of Scissorhands Photography

With the release of Lust for Life this past summer (July 21, 2017 via Interscope Records), Lana Del Rey has been touring all around the world. She is currently finishing up the US leg of the LA to the Moon Tour. On February 13, 2018, she took the stage at Talking Stick Resort Arena in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Del Rey beautifully incorporated previous album tracks with a plethora of songs from Lust for Life. Lana opened with “13 Beaches” from Lust for Life and then threw it back to her Ultraviolence (released June 13, 2014 via Interscope Records) era with “Pretty When You Cry”. She proceeded with various tracks from Lust for Life, which features artists such as The Weeknd, A$AP Rocky, Playboi Carti, Sean Ono Lennon and more. Later on in her set, Del Rey brought back Born to Die (released January 27, 2012 via Interscope Records) with tracks such as “Video Games” and “Ride”

With palm trees covering the stage and backgrounds of the ocean, this really captured the Los Angeles, California vibes presented throughout Lust for Life. Lana brings old Hollywood themes wherever she goes; hence the name LA to the Moon. With backup singers in complete synchronization with Del Rey, this presented older Jazz vibes we would see from the last century. Each song focused on an individual theme. When "Video Games" was played, Del Rey was seen swinging on a swing that was reminiscing her music video for this song. Although Lust for Life was recently released, this is considered one of her most overly positive, yet overtly political albums yet. Del Rey touched on some of the songs such as "Change" and why she wrote them for this album in particular.

The amount of love shown by her fans at this show was absolutely indescribable. Although this wasn't a sold out show, her fans made no use of the available space. They made sure to push up as far as possible in order to just be in her presence. Near the end of the show, particularly when she was performing "Love", every flashlight on phones went up. It was absolutely magnificent and gave a small glimpse of something heavenly. This complimented the entire atmosphere of the venue and gave everyone the opportunity to interact with Del Rey indirectly.

Photo by Mickey Johnson of Scissorhands Photography

Lana Del Rey, most notably known for being a modern day Marilyn Monroe icon, demonstrates various vintage themes throughout her art. Not only in themes throughout her songs, but also in her music videos as well. In her music video “National Anthem”, released in 2012, Del Rey makes direct references to the Kennedy Family and Marilyn Monroe. We see her and A$AP Rocky married with children in this. Del Rey and Rocky have been working together long before Lust for Life was released. Del Rey was first featured on a song entitled “Ridin’” written by A$AP Rocky. However, Rocky was not featured in any of Del Rey’s songs until “Groupie Love” and “Summer Bummer” which were released in the summer of 2017. Aside from A$AP Rocky, we see many collaborations between artists such as The Weeknd. Their collaboration on both Beauty Behind the Madness (released on August 28, 2015 via XO and Republic Records) and Starboy (released on November 25, 2016 via XO). Del Rey brought The Weeknd on board for one of her most popular tracks “Lust for Life” which also featured him in the music video as well.

Photo by Mickey Johnson of Scissorhands Photography

One favorable trait Del Rey inhabits is that of pure, and utter kindness towards her fans. During her set, Del Rey took a good 10 minutes to go down to the pit and collect art, take pictures, and sign merchandise. Among all of the various well-known artists we see today, it is a rarity that we see this amount of kindness towards fans. It is rare to see an artist stay humble after they have made a name for themselves, such as Del Rey.

Photo by Mickey Johnson of Scissorhands Photography

Lana Del Rey constantly reminds her fans that although she is a big star, she is still only human. With the monologue provided in the “Ride” music video, she talks about her early life in stardom, and touches briefly on her family’s views of her and her lifestyle. Looking at Lana Del Rey’s lyrics alone, we see evidence of addiction, various relationship scenarios, and many other topics that are vividly present in our society. Through every album, every tour, every interview, we are reminded how multi-dimensional this woman truly is.

Photo by Mickey Johnson of Scissorhands Photography

Lana Del Rey is more than just a voice of a generation. She is an old soul that is incredibly timeless. She continues to inspire individuals of every age from every background.