What better way to spend International Women’s Day 2023 than with righteous diva Lizzo, herall female band – including 19-year-old guitar shero Jordan Waters – and her troupe of bootylicious plus-size dancers surely selected for their shared sense of playfulness?
The Special tour is a riot of acid pinks and greens with lashings of body positivism emanating from the performance. Everyone is included in Lizzo’s Special love-in, with sisterhood vibes courtesy of the track Grrrls and the funky shout-out of Boys “from the playboys to the gay boys”.
No doubt Lizzo connects everywhere but she received a truly tremendous response from the “rowdy lads and lasses” of Glasgow, who were more than ready to love this quadruple threat of a performer – singer, rapper, dancer, flautist – who gleefully flaunted the lot, first in a sparkly cut-out outfit worthy of Cher, then a body suit which became a canvas for some arty projections during “Naked” and her message on the rolling back of abortion rights in her native US: “My Body My Choice”.
With a little help from her backing singers, she paid tribute to Lauryn Hill and Chaka Khan with bursts of “Doo Wop (Dat Thing)” and “I’m Every Woman”, but her songs held their own, from the lean rap of Tempo to the classic disco of “Everybody’s Gayand” the soul pomp of “Cuz I Love You”, one of the most effective showcases for her strong soul voice.
Her signature platinum flute – on its own hydraulic platform – was finally whipped out for Coldplay and deployed in a flute/twerk combo during “Truth Hurts”. The only way to top that virtuosic display was with a closing salvo of her biggest and best hits, “Good As Hell”, “Juice” and “About Damn Time”.
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