Marina Lights Up the Desert Night at Arizona Financial Theatre
Article written by Kili Goodrich and photos by Danica Robinson, Walt Williams and Caroline Charruyer.
Photo by: Danica Robinson
The arcade game sucks you in with glowing pinks, yellows, and blues. There's a flashing screen for you to select your designated player. The character Princess of Power is selected in twinkling stars. Fitting, as that is the name of Marina’s latest album and tour. On October 13th, the audience that settled into the Arizona Financial Theater in Phoenix, Arizona, took a ride into a galaxy far and wide. It was an absolute adventure saturated in hyperpop. Everyone dripped in layers of lace, white and blush tones, heart-painted cheeks, wrapped vines, glittering stars, and fruit. All-loving ode’s to eras that the iconic pop-star Marina has brought to us.
The Welsh artist released her latest album, Princess Of Powe,r back in June of this year. The electric pop album was highly anticipated and didn’t disappoint. Something I have always loved about Marina is that her art is consistent, yet morphs continuously into the most beautiful form of what she’s already gifted to the world. There is also an effortless way she brings comfort to the community around her. An aura that is safe in all of its vibrancy. For many of us, she’s the original landscape of Tumblr aesthetic. A face and sound that is both nostalgic and very relevant to the years carried to our present.
Photo by Danica Robinson
With our player selected, the audience enters the realm of glittery stars. Marina’s voice fills the theater, narrating the opening monologue of a tale as old as time. ‘Princess Of Power’ lyrically is the absolute best opening for this show. ‘Welcome to my world, princess of power,’ lyrics sung by Marina, who appears in a plum colored catsuit adorned with star patches. You can’t help but be utterly starstruck. She’s mesmerizing, filling the stage with complete dominance, and her voice blooms beautifully. The song carries the weight of independence and transformation. The first level of the game we’re all in is floating through a meteor galaxy of star fields. Marina is welcoming us to her world, and it is exactly where you want to be.
‘Are You Satisfied?’ is the last song of level one: Star Fields. The song is dressed more as alt-pop, and yet still very theatrical. Fans snap in the air as it's the first taste from her album The Family Jewels. Back when she was Marina and the Diamonds. The theme of the cost of success is displayed along with ambition battling satisfaction. If you dive deeper into the lyrics, you’ll find the tug between authenticity and compromise. The repetition of the chorus hangs in the air. For me personally, it felt like chasing goals, and when caught up ...am I full? When will that level of comfort relax into satisfaction?
Photo by: Walt Williams
One of my favorite songs from her latest album opened up level two of the night's adventure. ‘Cupid’s girl’ has a beat that is so hypnotic. I can’t help but compare it to a siren song. It absolutely lures you in with building percussion. The sound sways lightly before there is a release of an arrow and the smacking impact of its point reaching its destination. The mythological lyrics met with the bow and arrow sounds, paint a captivating imagery. Marina also mimics the action of letting the bow go before twirling her long, dark hair and arms around. I couldn't help but feel a strong sense of reclaiming feminine power as I watched her performance. The song is overall addictive and confidently flirtatious, just as the performance. The familiar hell’s level continued on with ‘Hermit The Frog,’ before nostalgia broke. A burst of excitement for a first taste from Electra Heart. A golden stamp of an iconic album in recent history. Marina even gave a nod to Tumblr's roots as the album was the site's poster child. ‘How To Be A Heartbreaker’ is an anthem for millennials. A guidebook to the rules of how to avoid getting heart punched. Have fun, but be the first to leave. The lyrics are power dynamics in romance, and the audience swore by them loudly in the air.
Level three: the cocoon set off into ‘Everybody Knows I’m Sad.’ The journey so far has been through identity, love, confidence, strength in vulnerability, and self-awareness. Marina’s sound production is always captivating, but this performance is more stripped back than the rest. In some moments, the artist takes time to sit on pink steps. The emotional weight is rising off of her. The track fades in what feels like an exhaled relief. ‘I Am Not A Robot,’ continues that vulnerability. Making this level feel the most raw of the night. An open door to an inner layer of peeled-back confidence. Something extremely human. ‘Butterfly’ is the perfect song to close this level, giving a beautiful transformation to the next. The tender melancholy meets something more hopeful.
Photo by: Caroline Charruyer
‘Digital Fantasy’ opened up for the self-titled level four. Shoulders begin to move, and feet rhythmically dance. The audience falls in sync with the movements. If anything, it is very apparent how hypnotic Marina is. We’re all traveling down a digital grid of buildings with 3D abbreviated colors. The gaming sounds punch through the air in a breezy tone. We are sucked into the idea of a desire for authenticity, battling fantasy. It’s difficult to differentiate when under a love spell. ‘Venus Fly Trap,’ transitions to a more funk-influenced sound of pop. The lyrics are tied with a tight string of confidence to never shrink for anyone or anything. ‘Why be a wallflower, when you can be a venus fly trap?’ ‘Metallic Stallion’ greeted the screen with a digital, luminous white stallion racing — mane blowing in the digital wind.
Level five: Party Paradiso was absolutely thrilling. In fact, the rest of the night was jam-packed with Marina’s most highlighted songs. Many audience members were peppered in an assortment of fruit. Delicious fashion choices to tribute ‘Froot.’ There is extra weight to the musicality of this performance. It feels electrified in its own special vibrancy. ‘Cuntissimo’ is absolutely fed by its energy. Carrying that live-wire energy into something more bold. This personally was the song of the summer. It oozes with confidence. A glamorous love story about self-identity. Towards the end of the performance, Marina is met with hand-selected audience members who all handmade the most exquisite costumes to pay tribute to different eras of Marina’s career. A winner of the pageant is sashed rightfully so, one fan who hand-crocheted an outfit to the era of ‘Froot.’ The runner-up was a fan who tributed Marina’s current era, in which they went to the commitment of hot gluing fabric and pearls to their face.
Photo by Danica Robinson
Another fan came all the way from Mexico, and another who dressed alike Marie Antoinette gave a warning if there was anyone in attendance from their school. As they borrowed from the theater closet. Marina replied, “I bet they wouldn’t mind. This is the most acceptable place for it.” Which, she’s one hundred percent right. The community the singer creates is open to expression. ‘Bubblegum Bitch’ was a powerful end to level five.
I was most excited to hear ‘Final Boss’ live. The song is so fun, in all of its digital-gaming existence. When the lights lifted, the crowd began to scream “Finish him!” all at once, as I have done a billion times listening to the song on my own. Entering this level with this song felt like a final confrontation from the adventure we’d been riding. The energetic rhythm of ‘Rollercoaster’ was transcendent. There was a sudden feeling of fulfillment, finally met with many moments before the conflict. The song is packed with intent and manifestation. ‘Primadonna’ closed out this final chapter. A fitting end to “primadonna girl, all I ever wanted was the world” from the beginning of “welcome to my world, princess of power.” The glossy track is a satirical pop anthem. An anthem of a narcissistic woman dripped with vanity. There’s a reminder within it that, through all of the glamor is loneliness. There’s so much tension between performance and self-absorption.
Photo by: Caroline Charruyer
Marina announced that this show had been her biggest performance in Phoenix. ‘I <3 U’ wrapped the night in its disco wave that was met with modern pop sounds. The song itself feels like a celebration. It contains notes of glitz, something cinematic. The song illuminated the night perfectly with its time travel motifs. There’s so much social context, that makes this performance feel grand, and intimate. A feeling curated that made the thousands of people in the audience all feel welcomed to the biggest party of commodification of love. The entire night felt celebratory for not only a beloved artist who shaped pop music beautifully, and continues to do so, but also everyone in the audience to feel just as loved, and celebrated.
