"Pop tours in 2025 are generally one of two categories: extravagant spectacle or stripped-down dance party. Lorde's "Ultrasound World Tour" is, refreshingly, something in the middle. While other stars have cornered the market on being the provocateur, the drama queen, the rock star, the posh performer, Lorde has always presented as the more left-of-center, elemental type. So, it's fitting that her show at New York's Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, October 1st was equally idiosyncratic."
"The stage itself was purposefully sparse: a giant square speaker stack sat at the back, the band was split and sunken into pits on either side of the stage, and a small thrust stage extended into the crowd. Arguably, the centerpiece was the large flat screen along the back of the stage, as each song received a unique visual presentation combining graphic work and numerous onstage cameras, usually with an additional piece of stage design brought on to switch things up. Get Lorde Tickets Here On "Broken Glass" for example, Lorde sang into and reeled in front of a giant industrial fan. It wasn't the most engaging stage prop - this large, squarish black thing just sitting kitty corner on the side of the stage - but somewhere in there was a camera that projected a bisected and rectangular view of the New Zealand singer up onto that big screen. When it showed just a narrow strip of her eyes, what once seemed like a base prop decision revealed far deeper creative decisions."
"The ring of lights that dropped from the ceiling for "Shapeshifter" cast a wispy point cloud rendering of Lorde on the screen. During "Favourite Daughter," her push-pull movements controlled her pair of background dancers movement specialists as well as the flashes of five different camera angles. On mid-show standout "Supercut," which saw the already famous treadmill take center stage, the screen was cut into various angles showing equally various shots: overhead, dire"
Lorde's Ultrasound World Tour balances spectacle and intimacy through sparse staging, strategic camera work, and isolated visual elements. The stage featured a giant square speaker stack, bands sunken into side pits, and a small thrust extending into the audience. A large flat screen provided a unique visual treatment for each song, combining graphic elements, onstage cameras, and occasional additional set pieces. Props and lighting were used to generate cinematic perspectives, from an industrial fan bisecting a projected image to a ring of lights producing a point-cloud rendering. Choreography and camera angles synchronized with movement, notably on "Favourite Daughter" and mid-show "Supercut".
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