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REVIEW: Lizzo had Vancouver crowd feeling good as hell for the first time in 5 years

Bottom line: Lizzo’s songs sure make girls and women feel good
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Lizzo on stage at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on Monday, Nov. 7. (Photo: Tom Zillich)

Lizzo made her Vancouver arena debut Monday (Nov. 7).

To echo the chorus of one hit song, it’s about damn time.

On a snowy school night, the Grammy Award winner brought “The Special Tour” to Rogers Arena for a night of empowering, party-starting pop, funk and hip-hop songs, including “Good As Hell” and “Juice.”

The Detroit-born, Houston-raised singer/rapper (aka Melissa Viviane Jefferson) last performed in Vancouver at a Gastown-area nightclub in 2017, a year before her “Coconut Oil” EP was released.

Since then, Lizzo’s become a mainstream icon known for her hit songs, body-positivity advocacy and a YITTY fashion line of shapewear.

Atlanta rapper Latto opened the sold-out show, where females outnumbered males 20-1, easy.

The screaming intensified just after 9 p.m. when Lizzo took the stage in a yellow outfit, said hello to “Vancity” and began hosting a two-hour party for 18,000 friends.

Bottom line: Lizzo’s songs sure make girls/women feel good, and on Monday she sang two dozen of them.

Mid-point in the show, she brought one happy birthday girl up for a rendition of “Happy Birthday” (as she does every concert during “Birthday Girl”), and later played flute better than Ron Burgundy.

Fronting a killer all-female band, Lizzo shook her rump, and shook it some more, and her moves were shadowed by a bevy of equally endowed backup dancers.

Near the end of the show, for a good chunk of time, Lizzo had the house lights turned up so she could see and say hello to fans who stood out, including two who brought giant juiceboxes, celebrating her juicy hit.

Pretty much everyone in the crowd – girlfriends, moms, daughters, lovers – danced and sang along, had a great time and forgot about life’s troubles for a couple of hours.

And for that, what’s not to love about Lizzo?



tom.zillich@surreynowleader.com

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Tom Zillich

About the Author: Tom Zillich

I cover entertainment, sports and news stories for the Surrey Now-Leader, where I've worked for more than half of my 30-plus years in the newspaper business.
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