Concert Review: Lizzo at Rogers Arena in Vancouver

tomtidgewellNovember 8, 2022

Breakout R&B star Lizzo debuts in town with live show

Lizzo performs on stage during her special tour at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas on October 25, 2022. Photo by Suzanne Cordeiro /AFP via Getty Images

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Lizzo: The Special Tour

when: November 7, 8:00 p.m.

Where: Rogers Arena

Tickets/Information: Livenation.com

Graphing Lizzo’s rise can be tricky.

Born in Detroit, home of Motown, and raised in Houston, home to artists ranging from Beyoncé to Megan Thee Stallion. However, in Minneapolis, home of the late great Prince, she recorded her company in Nice Her Life with Atlantic Records and was a huge success. Lizzobangers (2013), Big Grrrl Small World (2015) and Coconut Oil (2016) laid the foundation for her stardom with her killer songs and fiery attitude.

In the 2019s, Cuz I Love You entered the Billboard 200 Top 10, singles such as Juice and Tempo became popular, and the 62nd Grammy Awards were nominated for 8 categories and won 3 categories. She was already a seasoned performer.

When Special landed in 2021, it was no surprise to industry watchers that leadoff single About Damn Time reached the top spot on the Billboard 100. Lizzo was everywhere. She has done acting, voice work and won an Emmy Award for her series Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls series on Amazon Prime. She is the most important pop musician to play.

Considering how great her live performances have been at the 2022 BET Awards, SNL, and other shows, expectations were very high for her local headline debut.

Here are the five takeaways from the concert:

1 — Buildup: you know the drill The warmup act ends. The lineup of bathrooms is around the world. The same goes for the lines at the stalls. Waiting begins. Not this show. People stood up and danced in the stands singing along to what the DJ was throwing at them. Everyone was already on their feet when the lights dimmed and the all-female backing band crackled into The Sign’s jazzy groove. Lizzo donned a neon lime suit covered in killer rhinestones proclaiming that the stars have arrived.

2—Grrrlz/Boyz: Ten dancers surrounded her, and a call-and-response of “Where is my girl?” shook the arena. It was followed by Boyz’s sexy funk, designed to get the bassist to be as rubbery as possible and the guitarist to shred a few tight bars like a metal gig. The pace of the performance was strenuous and tight.

3 — Rumors: As text declaring everything from “biiitch” to “FACTS” scrolled up the screen, Cardi B popped up on the phone screen and dropped the lyrics to this ridiculous hit. An exquisite mix of gunfire hip-hop and electro-taste arrangements.

4 — Naked: This soft, tender ballad boasts powerful body-empowering lyrics and positive imagery. It was lovely, my body showing up on her chest on screen, my message of choice was well received in Canada.

5 — I love you. you are special And you can do anything: More than just an introduction to the title track of her smash album Special, this was the overall message of the show as a whole. From Lizzo to Billie Eilish and others, there seems to be an overarching need to counter the toxicity that runs rampant in society and the effect it has on people, especially young women. It was a message that needed to be heard and really made people smile on their way out. Cassidy certainly did after taking the stage for the Birthday Girl serenade.

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