There are few performers who can arrive on stage in a sparkly green outfit with platform boots and greet an almost 20,000-person crowd with, “Hi bitch, did you miss me?” But for Lizzo, commanding an audience in this signature attitude is a breeze, and her latest “Special Tour” Friday night performance at Boston’s TD Garden was no exception.
Over the past few years, Lizzo has distinguished herself by embracing love, body positivity and being unapologetically herself all while producing endlessly catchy pop, hip-hop and R&B hits.
Lizzo’s Friday night set opened with “The Sign,” off her July 2022 album, “Special.” She continued the high-energy evening with “2 Be Loved,” “Boys” and “Rumors” before transitioning into a slower and more emotional part of the set.
One of the most moving parts of the evening was her performance of “Naked” dressed in a nude bodysuit. Lights with different designs were projected onto her body, and as the song finished, the designs changed into the words “My Body, My Choice,” to much applause from the audience.
Her show was divided into four sets, each of which was separated by a video of Lizzo telling the crowd a variety of messages. In one, Lizzo said that she loves the audience; in another, she asked the audience to close their eyes and repeat a message to themselves — “I love you, you are amazing and you can do anything.” Lizzo was able to make TD Garden both an exciting party and a therapy session.
Throughout her show, Lizzo engaged enthusiastically with the audience. She frequently shouted out to the crowd of fans, saying things like, “Hey bitch, I see you!” and “Happy birthday, bitch!” to the shrieks and cries of adoring fans. Lizzo brought an insane amount of energy with over a dozen back-up dancers, whom she fondly refers to as the Big Grrrls.
One of the many hilarious moments of the evening included Lizzo bringing out a cardboard cutout of her celebrity crush, Chris Evans, dressed in a Boston Bruins jersey. She danced and sang while holding him before throwing him into the crowd with a breezy, “Bye bitch!”
A classically trained flutist, Lizzo recently made headlines by playing James Madison’s crystal flute on loan from the Library of Congress.
She showed off her talents again Friday night, proudly playing the flute — a different one, she assured the audience — multiple times throughout the show. Watching Lizzo twerk in a sparkly dress following her third outfit change of the night, all while playing the flute, was a sight to see.
This is what a Lizzo concert entails: fun, excitement and things you would never expect. Her concert was a full 26-song adventure that allowed fans to get lost in Lizzo’s messages of self-love and acceptance while dancing and shining underneath laser lights.
Rebecca Carcieri is an arts & culture editor. She is a senior from Warwick, Rhode Island studying political science.
