We headed over to Milwaukee this past Wednesday to see Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia Tour with Lolo Zouaï and Caroline Polachek! Check out our recap below along with some of the photos from the show.
Lolo Zouaï
Bilingual pop singer Lolo Zouaï finds a sweet spot between electronic pop and R&B, and despite this being her first stadium tour, her performance proves that she's no stranger to a stage. To most of Dua Lipa's fanbase, Lolo is an unfamiliar name; and yet, by the second chorus in her opener, she's got most of the bodies in the pit moving. Lolo's sound fits in well with a Gen-Z fanbase, tapping into bedroom pop vocals, a kpop style and a Billie Eilish flare--but maybe that's the lime green outfit talking. To an untuned ear, some of her songs might blend together, but it's moments like "Moi" where she really catches our attention. The production-focused song is partially in French, and the main chorus chops up Lolo's voice in a bass-forward drop. As the song heavily relies on the track, she spends the vocal breaks dancing and getting lost in her own sound. Lolo is hard to miss, even in a set under 30 minutes.
Caroline Polachek
Coming hot off TikTok-viral song, "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings," Caroline Polachek has eyes on her. She walks out wearing a flowy floor-length dress with matching gloves, carrying a lightness in her movements. Despite being on tour with a pop hitmaker, it's clear that Caroline came to do her own thing. Unlike both Lolo Zouaï and Dua Lipa, Caroline's music is slow, ethereal and at times, operatic. She's not for everyone: fans of Florence and the Machine or Sky Ferreira might be adding Caroline to a playlist over a Dua Lipa fan. She's alternative and experimental, and while she gave a near perfect vocal performance, parts of the crowd aren't sure how to take her. But when she closes with that viral song, we're reminded why she's on the tour.
Dua Lipa
After having the biggest couple years of her career, Dua Lipa cements her superstardom wearing Balenciaga, Mugler, Marine Serre and her own Puma collection on stage while delivering a perfectly rehearsed 80-minute performance. It begins with a movie-like video intro of her dancers, singers and herself, and suddenly we're in the Future Nostalgia experience. The dancers enter, wearing violet suits resembling an '80s aerobics team. Then Dua rises covered in an impossible-to-miss lime green Balenciaga bodysuit. She fires off "Physical" and "New Rules" before taking a breath to say hello to Milwaukee.
Every song has a theme and a carefully choreographed dance, and even Dua's steps feel perfectly timed. Matching songs like "Physical," "Pretty Please," and "Good In Bed," the energy stays sensual the whole time. The dancers have their hands on her regularly, and it's a frequent occasion that we cheer on Dua Lipa's butt. Each song gets a theme that matches the sound or lyrics: "We're Good" gets an aquatic visual and a blow-up lobster, and "Boys Will Be Boys" strips down the bigger elements for just Dua Lipa onstage with a dress train being blown in the wind. Themed interludes give her a break to make three outfit changes. For the first, two men on rollerskates come out pretending to serve cocktails while "IDGAF" plays distantly; she returns in a sparkling white bodysuit. In the second, her dancers come together in workout gear for "Club Future Nostalgia," one of the highest energy moments in the show, where we hear a club mix of various well-known pop songs. Before we know it, Dua Lipa is back on stage and we're singing along to another hit.
It's alarming how quickly the time flies, but that's the power of her discography. With so many familiar songs and top ten hits, it's easy to forget the time. Her pre-encore finishers are "Cold Heart" and "Levitating," and only the title track and her biggest hit are left. Both the pit and the surrounding seat sections are shaking with excitement as she returns to stage for "Future Nostalgia" and "Don't Start Now." Confetti lodged in their hair, the mostly female crowd exits with high praises--in the row behind me I hear, "That was the best night of my life."