When you want to hear AURORA‘s song, “Starvation” live, you don’t miss that chance to hear it. And let’s just say that we’re fans of what AURORA has been doing in the music world this year. After anticipations have built and released with the release of her latest album, What Happened To The Heart, AURORA has been on tour all across the world, and has at last made it into the United States. We had the privilege of seeing her within the walls of Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, right in the heart of San Francisco.
The night began with a special appearance of Biig Piig, who played a beautifully intimate set. The magic in the air was tangible from that moment forward. Whether it was from the crowd, the performance, or both; even AURORA mentioned the tingle in the air and on the stage.
“I usually feel it when I perform, especially in San Francisco, but tonight feels a little different,” she said simply. I swear I saw her plant her bare feet deeper into the earth as she huffed out a small breath, taking it all in.
The music came freely from her from that moment onward.
And in her explanations of the meanings of each song – even as they change a little by the day – she breathed life into the music effortlessly. Every word she sang had power that you feel could shift entire mountains.
AURORA had begun the night slowly, with stripped back versions of her hits, and the intimacy of the evening continued to build as the instrumentals did as well. The performance hit its peak during our personal favorite of hers right now, “Starvation.” As all of the feelings the performance built until that moment, we felt a release. The audience broke into dance with her as the lights flashed and the instrumentals mixed into obscurity. We abandoned all of our worries in that moment and sang along.
And just when you felt the night couldn’t capture our feelings any further, AURORA slowed the music again, allowing us to process our feelings again. During the encore she played a stripped version of “Murder Song” by fan request; to which she played on the piano with an equal mixture of delight and eeriness.
Track List:
- Goddess of Dusk
- Churchyard
- Soulless Creatures
- It Happened Quiet
- Heathens
- The Forbidden Fruits of Eden
- The Dark Dresses Lightly
- Exist for Love (Interrupted due to fan fainting and few fans needing water. Resumed shortly after.)
- Echo of My Shadow
- The River
- A Soul with No King
- Runaway
- The Seed
- The Blade
- Starvation
- Giving In to the Love
- Cure for Me
- Some Type of Skin
- Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) (Piano Acoustic. Fan request.)
- Invisible Wounds
- A Little Place Called the Moon
Fans of AURORA adore her deeply for her kindness, her character, and her deeply, shamelessly embracing herself for who she is. Some artists create the community for all the people who feel a little place. AURORA takes it a step further and calls them her warriors, too.
“You come here, I know, because you know sadness. I know that you feel it deeply. And you fight on all the same for what you feel is right and true,” she said. She also thanked her audience for being who they were. “Because of you, I found hope in darkness.” And you knew that she meant what she said with every fiber of her being.
Its rare events like this where you’re left with few words to the feelings you’re gifted during an artist’s set.
But one thing you know for sure, you feel full and ready to take on anything that comes your way. AURORA’s performances are just that. It’s more than the little bit of magic in the air, more than the woven words and instruments taking all these feelings for a Muse and taking it for themselves. No, AURORA builds on these feelings and offers them out with open palms, giving us all a piece to take home with us at the end of her performance.
Get your tickets to “What Happened To The Earth: Part Two” here! Stay tuned for more updates on AURORA.