Lorde proves she's one of pop's boldest stars in Milwaukee concert, kicking off new tour

"We've got something pretty different for you," Lorde promised during the opening night of her "Melodrama" North American tour Thursday at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

We wouldn't expect anything less from the New Zealand native — or anything shy of greatness.

Just two albums in, Lorde's accomplishments include her game-changing 2013 debut, "Pure Heroine," that ushered in an era of minimalist pop; a superb sophomore album, last year's "Melodrama"; and conquering festivals and award shows beginning when she was a teenager (she's 21 now).

Her own exceptional standards have set a high bar — but true to her word, Lorde's show was different, not so much for what it included as for what it didn't.

For an arena pop tour, the staging was remarkably stark. There were flashy lights, but no fireworks or bombastic video displays. There were a couple of costume changes, but nothing dramatic, and the contemporary dance routines — choreographed by Milwaukee native Andrew Winghart — were elegantly understated.

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But the staging was a fitting extension of Lorde's less-is-more approach, allowing the focus to remain on her words and her presence.

She's several years removed from "Heroine" track "Ribs" with its refrain of "It feels so scary getting old," but Lorde sang those words with even greater urgency Thursday, like she was starting to more fully appreciate the gravity of that sentiment.

For "Melodrama" track "Supercut," Lorde's voice and interactions with Winghart encapsulated the song's blissful romantic naivety while slyly alluding to the melancholy behind the wish fulfillment.

A gorgeously sparse "Writer in the Dark" — in which Lorde says she'll love someone "till my breathing stops" even though she's moved on — was spontaneously illuminated by smartphone lights across the arena. She also did a vulnerable performance, accompanied by a lone keyboard, of Frank Ocean's "Solo," which she performed for the first time Thursday.

The audience was in a hush during these quieter, compelling moments of expression. And those moments also made the bolder parts of the show pop like bursts of bright color.

Lorde sang the end of "The Louvre" on her back, carried around the stage by her six dancers. A transparent rectangle that served as a separate staging area for the dancers most of the night was suspended in the air; during "Yellow Flicker Beat," it was tilted, with a dancer literally sliding inside the rectangle as part of her routine.

Then "Green Light," the finale, those six dancers climbed rope ladders to perform suspended in that rectangle in the air, as Lorde sang and jumped and danced below them with infectious euphoria.

If the rest of the "Melodrama" run lives up to Thursday's confident and charismatic first show, this is going to be the must-see tour of the spring. But with Lorde, we wouldn't expect anything less.

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THE OPENERS

For its long overdue first Milwaukee show, the guys from opening act Run the Jewels were both towering titans and down-to-earth Average Joes.

The duo of hip-hop veterans Killer Mike and El-P took the stage to Queen’s “We Are The Champions” with Mike promptly vowing they would “(Expletive) (expletive) up.” But the alpha intensity was to an extent a bit of a ruse, with the guys sweetly giving each other affectionate hugs and kisses; poking fun at their weight; and praising the ladies in their lives and celebrating the first day of Women’s History Month.

Ultimately, it was that combination of stone-cold swagger and everyman appeal that made Run the Jewels so endearing during a 45-minute set of hard-hitting, heart-pumping party tracks like “Legend Has It” and “Close Your Eyes.”

The tour got off to a bit of an awkward start with slightly anxious Swedish pop artist Tove Styrke struggling with her ear piece. With an aesthetic clearly influenced by Lorde, Styrke even went as far as to cover the headliner’s “Liability,” a baiting tactic that admittedly won over a few listeners. From there Styrke earned some admiration on her own merits, with passionate, carefree dance moves and cool, vocoder-coated vocals.

THE TAKEAWAYS

The first night of Lorde's tour was wildly successful in almost every aspect, except one: Inexplicably, the Bradley Center wasn't very crowded. All of the 400 sections were curtained off, and there was lots of empty seats scattered through the lower bowl. I'm guessing about 7,000 or so were in attendance, still justifying the venue, but in a just world, a performer of Lorde's caliber would sell out the place.

Lorde mentioned Milwaukee bar Wolski's during the set. No word if she participated in the long-beloved tradition of staying until closing time and receiving a bumper sticker.

During "Team," Lorde came down into the photo pit to sing with fans, even grabbing and kissing the hand of a girl who promptly burst into tears.

There was confetti at Lorde's show, during big finale "Green Light." Nothing new about that, except Lorde's confetti was customized: small white stars with the words "Just another graceless night" written in cursive, a nod to the lyrics from "Perfect Places."

Killer Mike thanked Madison for being the home base for one of the greatest DJs in the world, Run the Jewels' Trackstar the DJ (real name Gabe Moskoff.) Supplying sharp record scratches throughout the set, Trackstar took full advantage of his time in the spotlight with a cool turntable solo at the end of "Nobody Speak," a track originally featuring Run the Jewels that was made by Trackstar's idol DJ Shadow.

RELATED: Madison native Gabe Moskoff, a.k.a. Trackstar the DJ, lives the dream with Run the Jewels

THE SET LIST

1. "Sober"

2. "Homemade Dynamite"

3. "Tennis Court"

4. "Magnets" (Disclosure cover)

5. "Buzzcut Season"

6. "400 Lux"

7. "Ribs"

8. "The Louvre"

9. "Hard Feelings"

10. "Yellow Flicker Beat"

11. "Writer in the Dark"

12. "Solo" (Frank Ocean cover)

13. "Liability"

14. "Sober II (Melodrama)"

15. "Supercut"

16. "Royals"

17. "Perfect Places"

18. "Green Light"

Encore

19. "Loveless"

20. New song (Never-before-released. Title unknown)

21. "Team"

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Find out about the week's must-see shows, concert tickets and more in the newsletter "Piet Levy's Music Picks." Subscribe at jsonline.com/newsletters.

Piet talks about concerts, local music and more on "TAP'd In" with Jordan Lee, 8 a.m. Thursdays on WYMS-FM (88.9).