Lana performing more UV songs on tour?

[Honeymooner 336]

Hey everyone,

 

I apologize if a similar topic to this is around, but I wasn't able to find it. It has come up during some of the "Shows" threads, but I thought perhaps it deserves its own thread.

 

A lot of people have been discussing disappointment at how Lana hasn't been singing more Ultraviolence songs during her recent concerts. I know "Shades of Cool" was debuted live at Hollywood Forever on October 18. For the most part, though, she has generally only sung about 4 or 5 UV songs, and the rest have been from Born To Die and Paradise (and the occasional cover).

 

Here's what I have to say about that:

 

So what?

 

I'm probably going to get flamed for this... But let's think about it. Pretty much any artist you see will perform both older and newer songs when they give a concert. We're not all going to go to every single LDR concert, and she knows that, just like any other artist. For example, I've seen Weird Al in concert 4 times, the first time being 1997 or 98, and every single time, he has sung either "Fat" or "Eat It" (or both), despite those being among his older hits. Why? Because the fans like them! He's trying to appeal to the older and newer fans alike, and to those who like his older music and his newer music. Of course, LDR doesn't have as many albums out and hasn't been around as long, but she still knows that there are people who attend her concerts who LOVE the Born To Die and Paradise music just as much, if not moreso, than the Ultraviolence music. And, of course, there are those who like the UV music better. My point is that she wants to appeal to as much of her audience as she can. There's nothing that says she has to do an "Ultraviolence Tour" in which she ONLY sings UV songs. I'd bet that if she's still performing live 20 years from now, she'll still sing "Video Games" at every concert. Why? Because there will be people who WANT to hear it.

 

Some have also said that her set list is boring, because it is largely unchanged. There's a reason for that, too: If an artist performs more-or-less the same songs each time, the songs will only get better and better. They can also make subtle changes in notes, durations, and even lyrics, without throwing off the rest of the band. They're just that comfortable with the music that they can handle little alterations without any problem. And of course, Lana herself won't forget the words to a song she's sung 1000 times, right?

 

Discussion welcome!

[hollywoodgirl 396]

I can see what you mean, but I don't think that's what is going on here. The problem is that she released a new album while still touring for her first album. So I do think that we will get a "real" ultraviolence tour. But yes, I do think that you are right in that she will still be singing her hits like video games and born to die in future touring.

But I think this was still a born to die/paradise American tour with some added ultraviolence songs, because the album came out. And she will be doing a Ultraviolence tour + soms songs from born to die/paradise next year.

 

Or at least that's what I hope.

If she releases another ep as part of ultraviolence as paradise was to born to die, maybe she will be touring for those then.

 

Oke, I don't even know where my train of thought is going here, and English is not my 1st language so forgive me for any mistakes.

[lazybooklet 575]

People don't go to concert to listen to new songs anymore, as they got Internet, YouTube, iTunes, Spotify, etc. So it is only sensible for concerts to change it old meaning and have artists performing majorly hits in their concerts - as they (and the label) knows that performing those hits will sell more tickets - which makes more money - and more PROFIT! And we all know how business cares about profit.

 

In the Lana Del Rey case, all of us - hardcore fans - don't count that many for the whole fanbase of LDR (yes, there are many of them only know Born to Die is one of her album - or only like Video Game). So it is easy to understand that the demand for hearing Ultraviolence songs is not enough (at least not for now) for label to make Lana performing it. 

[PARADIXO 32,942]

I get what you mean, you're very smart and yeah, you're right. But, idk, look at Madonna. On her last world tour, she used to perform all the songs from MDNA and her old mega hits such as "Vogue", "Like a Prayer", etc. Why? Well, those are some of her biggest hits and the audience love them! But it was the MDNA Tour so she had to perform songs from that album. This year, Lana had this mixture between the Paradise and Ultraviolence Tour, but now it's time for the ~official~ UV Tour. She can sing, I don't know, 10/11 songs from UV and "Video Games" (obviously), "Born to Die", "Ride", "Summertime Sadness", and idk a cover! That would be awesome.

 

Some have also said that her set list is boring, because it is largely unchanged. There's a reason for that, too: If an artist performs more-or-less the same songs each time, the songs will only get better and better. They can also make subtle changes in notes, durations, and even lyrics, without throwing off the rest of the band. They're just that comfortable with the music that they can handle little alterations without any problem. And of course, Lana herself won't forget the words to a song she's sung 1000 times, right?

 

Well, it's time to practice UV tracks! So they can get better and better with every show. Even though I love these songs... it's time to say goodbye to "Million Dollar Man", "Carmen", "Young and Beautiful" (please!!!!!!) and "Cola".

[longtimeman 8,919]

Most bands throughout history have added about five songs from each new album to their repertoire, which is what Lana's done on this tour. The internet seems to encourage a culture of constant novelty, where everything has to be continually new and fresh, and you get idiotic comments like 'welcome to two months ago' if you're not right at the bleeding edge of culture. I don't know if I'll get to see Lana live, but I'd be disappointed if she didn't play Video Games and National Anthem, at least (and I say that as someone who considers Ultraviolence my album of the year).

[strange weather 1,953]

nah, sorry. most artists focus on their new album during their most current tour and only play the singles from their other albums. 

 

lana hasn't given UV its due quite yet and it's not fair. 

[fessle 730]

I think that it's good to showcase only a few new songs because you value them more? I think people still enjoy older songs the most (at least I do) and while I'd love to hear the new material, I still love the old material, it's more sentimental.

 

I just went to a show tonight and the singer was like "I'm going to play just a few new songs because I know when I go to shows I like hearing a lot of the old songs" and it's so true because I went to her show (Meiko) and I wanted her to play less new material and more old material.

 

With Lana and UV we wanted more because we thought this was the UV era and whatnot and we should have gotten more songs live but I guess that'll be for the next tour. This was sort of an in between albums tour I guess since very few new songs were played live. I am sure more and more new songs will be added, but now I'm wondering what songs will get cut.

[Spac3gypsy 72]

I think what you all should remember is... This is a great way to make money. She no longer has to work on a new album next year. Since she hasn't played most of the songs live...that means she can make next year an ultraviolence tour. Which gives her more time to write. If she changed her tour to only ultraviolence songs now...people would get bored with the album. This way the songs are kept fresh and more people can learn them and make them popular.

 

This is a brilliant marketing scheme. Lana's team knows exactly what they are doing.

[Honeymooner 336]

Wow, lots of great discussion and points raised here. Thanks! Just what I was hoping for.

 

 

hollywoodgirl, on 26 Oct 2014 - 4:54 PM, said:

I can see what you mean, but I don't think that's what is going on here. The problem is that she released a new album while still touring for her first album. So I do think that we will get a "real" ultraviolence tour. But yes, I do think that you are right in that she will still be singing her hits like video games and born to die in future touring. But I think this was still a born to die/paradise American tour with some added ultraviolence songs, because the album came out.

I meant to say that we don't necessarily *have* to have an "Ultraviolence Tour;" it could just be another tour in general. I was under the impression that the "Paradise Tour" had pretty much ended late last year. I think one thing that marked the end of that "era" was the band she used for live concerts. For BTD/Paradise songs, she almost always had a live string quartet along with the rest of the band, since those songs were string-heavy. Since she started performing some of the UV songs, the string quartet disappeared, and for the songs that used strings, she used pre-recorded tracks (e.g. the beginning of "Born To Die"). Other songs, like "National Anthem," they rearranged where they didn't need the string sounds.

 

hollywoodgirl, on 26 Oct 2014 - 4:54 PM, said:

And she will be doing a Ultraviolence tour + soms songs from born to die/paradise next year.

Or at least that's what I hope.

So you're figuring that on her next tour, she'll perform more songs from Ultraviolence and less from the rest. That's certainly plausible.

 

hollywoodgirl, on 26 Oct 2014 - 4:54 PM, said:

If she releases another ep as part of ultraviolence as paradise was to born to die, maybe she will be touring for those then.

Do you think an EP is likely?

 

PARADIXO, on 26 Oct 2014 - 5:19 PM, said:

I get what you mean, you're very smart and yeah, you're right. But, idk, look at Madonna. On her last world tour, she used to perform all the songs from MDNA and her old mega hits such as "Vogue", "Like a Prayer", etc. Why? Well, those are some of her biggest hits and the audience love them! But it was the MDNA Tour so she had to perform songs from that album. This year, Lana had this mixture between the Paradise and Ultraviolence Tour, but now it's time for the ~official~ UV Tour. She can sing, I don't know, 10/11 songs from UV and "Video Games" (obviously), "Born to Die", "Ride", "Summertime Sadness", and idk a cover! That would be awesome.

That would make a for a good concert! I wonder if she'll still do "National Anthem," since that seems to be her go-to ending song. "Ride" might disappear. "Video Games" and "Summertime Sadness" are like staple songs for her; those will probably always be there, and probably "Born To Die" as well. Some of the other songs she still does now, like "Blue Jeans," "Cola," and "Body Electric" may fall away and be replaced with more UV songs.

 

PARADIXO, on 26 Oct 2014 - 5:19 PM, said:

Well, it's time to practice UV tracks! So they can get better and better with every show. Even though I love these songs... it's time to say goodbye to "Million Dollar Man", "Carmen", "Young and Beautiful" (please!!!!!!) and "Cola".

Awww, I like "Young and Beautiful!" It's actually my favorite LDR song. But she' hasn't performed that lately, so I think that one's already pretty much gone. Maybe she'll do some smaller venue performances again, like the Amoeba, to gain confidence in some of the UV songs she hasn't performed live yet. I'd like to see "Brooklyn Baby" and "Black Beauty" (even though the latter is a bonus track) be added to her live set. I'd also love to see "Flipside" and "Is This Happiness," but those are also bonus tracks and not likely to appear. One can hope, though!

 

 

strange weather, on 26 Oct 2014 - 7:31 PM, said:

nah, sorry. most artists focus on their new album during their most current tour and only play the singles from their other albums.

 

lana hasn't given UV its due quite yet and it's not fair.

Well, UV is still new, and as some have pointed out, she seems to still be doing the Paradise Tour, despite the change in instrumentation. Perhaps she's doing a slow transition...

 

 

fessle, on 26 Oct 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:

I think that it's good to showcase only a few new songs because you value them more? I think people still enjoy older songs the most (at least I do) and while I'd love to hear the new material, I still love the old material, it's more sentimental.

I'm with you there! I like UV, but I like the style of BTD/Paradise better myself. And I'm sure there are others out there as well who feel the same way, and Lana knows that, which is why she'll continue to mix in her old songs along with UV songs (and future new album songs) as long as she performs live.

 

fessle, on 26 Oct 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:

With Lana and UV we wanted more because we thought this was the UV era and whatnot and we should have gotten more songs live but I guess that'll be for the next tour.

Perhaps.

 

fessle, on 26 Oct 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:

This was sort of an in between albums tour I guess since very few new songs were played live.

What's interesting is that she has done more UV songs outside of the US, like FMWUTTT.

 

fessle, on 26 Oct 2014 - 10:07 PM, said:

I am sure more and more new songs will be added, but now I'm wondering what songs will get cut.

As I mentioned above, I think songs like "Cola," "Body Electric," and "Ride" will eventually disappear. Someone else cited "Carmen" and "Million Dollar Man" as well.

[GangstaBoy 3,930]

it's time to say goodbye to "Million Dollar Man", "Carmen", "Young and Beautiful" (please!!!!!!) and "Cola".

 

 

You can tell she loves performing MDM, she ain't gonna drop it any time soon

[naachoboy 7,993]

I get your point, i think she needs to keep doing from BTD: BTD, Video Games and SS/BJ. P: Only Ride (lol) and the maximum of UV songs. 

PD: i think MDM could be good in the UV setlist, it kinda has the same feel live. 

[TRASHBABY 346]

do you think cola will ever go away lol 

[HEARTCORE 18,971]

Honestly, I think she should drop all BtD & Paradise songs. She's done them all so many times, I reckon she should do the ones she's never done before/does rarely eg. Lucky Ones, Gods & Monsters (especially with the surge in popularity of this because of AHS) & Lolita. Everything else should be UV songs like Brooklyn Baby, Cruel World, Fucked My Way Up To The Top, Old Money, Florida Kilos (might be too hard), Black Beauty and Pretty When You Cry.

[Thunder Revenant 20,943]

There is a difference between performing a few old songs because everyone likes them and doing the same playlist over an over again because you are lazy.

Lana had a new album released, usually artists perform mostly new songs and 1/2 old songs then before doing a "mix" playlist again

[LittleFool 1,912]

Part of me feels like she's just over this era already

[Honeymooner 336]

You can tell she loves performing MDM, she ain't gonna drop it any time soon

Maybe not... although she doesn't perform it all the time, so maybe it will eventually fall by the wayside. 

 

I get your point, i think she needs to keep doing from BTD: BTD, Video Games and SS/BJ. P: Only Ride (lol) and the maximum of UV songs. 

 

PD: i think MDM could be good in the UV setlist, it kinda has the same feel live.

Eventually, of course, as she releases more albums, she won't be able to perform as many songs from the current album and still keep her fans happy with some "classics." The more albums you release, the fewer from each one you can perform live.

 

do you think cola will ever go away lol 

LOL, good question. "Blue Jeans" was her standard opener for a while, then it got replaced by "Cola" after Paradise came out. Now, she's mostly transitioning to "Cruel World" as her opener, with "Cola" following it, and then "Blue Jeans." My guess is that "Cola" and "Blue Jeans" will eventually drop off.

 

Honestly, I think she should drop all BtD & Paradise songs. She's done them all so many times, I reckon she should do the ones she's never done before/does rarely eg. Lucky Ones, Gods & Monsters (especially with the surge in popularity of this because of AHS) & Lolita. Everything else should be UV songs like Brooklyn Baby, Cruel World, Fucked My Way Up To The Top, Old Money, Florida Kilos (might be too hard), Black Beauty and Pretty When You Cry.

I disagree about dropping *all* BTD/Paradise songs, but I do agree that it would be nice to hear some different ones. I don't think she has ever performed "Lucky Ones" live. That's one of my personal favorites from BTD, and I'd love to hear a live performance of that one someday. But I'm not holding my breath.

 

"Gods and Monsters" may, as you say, become one she performs more often, although by the time she starts touring again, the AHS performance may be long forgotten.

 

There is a difference between performing a few old songs because everyone likes them and doing the same playlist over an over again because you are lazy.

I don't think it's a question of laziness. Could have to do with her record label, too -- maybe they have more influence on which songs she performs. But there's a difference between laziness and a comfort zone. Now that she's done touring, maybe she'll practice UV songs with her band and build up a comfort level that will allow her to perform more of them live.

 

Part of me feels like she's just over this era already

If that were the case, she wouldn't be performing so many of the older songs (unless her label is forcing her to). She may be over the era as a whole, but I think she still loves the songs.

[lazybooklet 575]

Remember guys, Lana is an mainstream artist in a mainstream label, you can't just expect Lana to perform whatever she wants on stage.

 

I truly feel that she wanted to get over BTD/Paradise era already, as how she mentioned Tropico as a farewell project, and how style of Ultraviolence is so different from BTD/Paradise. And it is only make sense how she is still performing mainly from her old albums - as it is not time yet to 'promote' Ultraviolence - marketing strategically as someone mentioned before.

[Guest Dot]

1. This isn't the Ultraviolence tour. The album has been out for four months and people already expected her to perform the whole album as soon as the album was released, which is quite ridiculous considering that she didn't even have time to rehearse them. (see "Shades of Cool" performance)

 

2. She will keep performing her singles. Not all of them but definitely the more popular ones. Why? Because her casual fans who make up about 50% of the people that go to her concerts only know her singles and if she was only to perform the new songs they would be really pissed because...they can't sing along.

 

3. Her having to tour for so long is probably why she's so uninterested in promoting UV. I think it really annoys and exhausts her and she really doesn't give a shit at this point to do TV appereances because she's already performing A LOT for someone who's as "unstable" as she is. I don't know if it's Interscope's fault but her schedule from 2013-now has been a mess. Not only her tour schedule but also single releases, videos (TROPICO was mismanaged and poorly promoted, although it's definitely Lana's masterpiece!), etc.

 

4. Now...the question is: When will she finally tour Ultraviolence...? If you ask me, I don't think she is going to tour it anymore and if she does she'll take a long break first after the Paradise Tour is finally over and done with. I think mid-late 2015. The album at this point is dead. Her lable doesn't care about promoting it or releasing any further singles from the album. Lana doesn't have time or simply doesn't want to film/release videos for it anymore, it seems and overall it's really just a huge mess. I don't see how anything can save this album from the black hole it has disapperead in, which is sad because it had a lot of potential...

 

5. If there is going to be an Ultraviolence Tour what songs will she perform...? Who knows? I'm expecting  "classics" like Born to Die, Video Games, Blue Jeans, Summertime Sadness, National Anthem, Young and Beautiful and Ride to appear agian. The rest SHOULD be Ultraviolence songs but you'll never know with Lana....she might throw in some random songs like Carmen and MDM again or maybe Cola too which will leave less room for UV songs.  I'm pretty sure, however, that not all of the 16 songs from UV are going to be performed. Judging by how many Paradise songs made it onto the setlist of the asssociated tour we shouldn't expect too many or maybe not till the end of the tour.

[naachoboy 7,993]

If she plays like 1:30-2 hour per show, maybe she would be able to pull off a good amount of BTD/P songs in the UV tour, but i dont think she likes to do long shows.

[Guest Dot]

If she plays like 1:30-2 hour per show, maybe she would be able to pull off a good amount of BTD/P songs in the UV tour, but i dont think she likes to do long shows.

Well, she herself said that she really isn't doing much while performing. I think anyone would be extremely bored if they had to just stand there and sing for almost 2 hours.