Barefoot, bold, and a little chaotic – Lorde turns Qudos Bank Arena into a stage for performance art.
Last night, Wednesday 18 February, Lorde transformed Qudos Bank Arena into something equal parts intimate and chaotic for the Sydney leg of her Ultrasound World Tour, supporting her fourth album, Virgin.
If you missed it, there’s still a chance to catch her tonight (Thursday 19).
Opening with Kevin Abstract, who brought a surprisingly personal touch to his set – wandering the stage with a cameraman in tow and even signing a fan’s vinyl – Lorde’s own show quickly shifted the mood.
She began acapella before dropping into the punchy beats of ‘Hammer,’ one of her newer tracks, with dancers flanking the stage and the band nestled in the pit.
From there, the night teetered between pop performance and performance art.
She jumped off stage mid-song for ‘David,’ stripped down to red boxers with chest tape, then ended the night fully dressed in a hoodie – an arc that felt intentionally chaotic, raw, and deeply emotional.
Her dancing was expressive rather than polished, letting the music breathe in an arena-sized setting.
Highlights spanned new tracks like ‘Hammer’ and ‘Shapeshifter,’ with classics ‘Royals ‘(coming in surprisingly early in the set in second place), ‘Green Light,’ and ‘Ribs’ sprinkled throughout.
Minimal staging, handheld cameras, and barefoot moments gave the show a stripped-back vibe that felt closer to intimate theatre than a traditional arena spectacle.
This wasn’t a night of big, choreographed spectacle – it was messy, vulnerable, and strangely tender, reminding everyone why Lorde has carved out her own lane in pop music.
