The flurries of snow that fell over Lansdowne Street set a perfect scene for what fans waiting outside Boston’s MGM Music Hall were about to experience. AURORA brought her What Happened to the Earth tour to Boston last week, and to say it was magical would be an understatement. The Norwegian singer-songwriter transported the audience straight into her mind for close to 20 songs that ranged from soft, lullaby-like tracks to songs and light shows you might see in a club or at an EDM show.
The night began with gorgeous performances of “Churchyard” and “Soulless Creatures” before AURORA paused to address the Boston crowd in a brief speech about learning to realize that we are all one, and that she wanted to create a space where the audience could forget about the unfairness and uncertainties going on in the world around them. This segued nicely into “Through the Eyes of a Child,” which further emphasized not turning to hate or fear of what we don’t understand.
As the earlier part of the set continued on, fans got to hear a few more of AURORA’s slower songs before she picked up the energy with “Some Type of Skin” off of her newest album What Happened To The Heart. Some time later she introduced “Exist for Love” by explaining how it’s one of the only love songs she’s ever written, and that she finds writing about love to be boring. After the song, there was some commotion in the center of the pit before everyone had realized that there had been an engagement during the song! The couple was met with cheers from the audience and congratulations from the singer, who wished them a lifetime of love and, most importantly, good food. “The Dark Dresses Lightly” and “The Blade” kept up the energy and captivating production at the front of the room. The latter song featured moody, dark red lighting and even portrayed AURORA licking a knife on the screen behind her.
AURORA dedicated her next, and most well-known, song to all the indigenous people around the world who have been pushed out of their homes and feel they have nowhere to return. Her pointed delivery of lyrics shines in all of her songs, but comes across especially strong in this one as she belted out lyrics like “No, take me home, take me home where I belong / I got no other place to go” and “I was running far away, would I run off the world someday?” Humanitarian issues are clearly at the forefront of much of her discography, including the following song, “The Seed,” which speaks about the importance of preserving nature and the world and not letting greed overtake us.
A three song encore consisting of “Cure for Me,” “Queendom,” and “Invisible Wounds” closed out the hauntingly beautiful set, leaving fans more than satisfied. I’m not sure exactly how to describe it, but AURORA’s music and stage presence perfectly captures who she is as a person and her upbringing in the woodlands of Norway. Let’s just say that her feature on Frozen’s “Into the Unknown” was a perfect role for her. AURORA continues her tour in Asia and Australia early next year before heading to Europe in the spring. You can buy tickets on her website.
