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Marina And The Diamonds Sells Out The El Rey Theatre

Julie Tong |
September 18, 2010 | 11:51 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Marina and the Diamonds (Julie Tong)
Marina and the Diamonds (Julie Tong)
Marina stepped on stage at the El Rey Theatre Friday night to play her last, sold-out show on tour.

She dived in to sing tracks from her latest album, "The Family Jewels," stopping only a few times to continually thank the audience for being so amazing and supporting her throughout her tour.

The audience had come to have a good time and she had the same sentiment in mind, prancing around the stage, galvanizing her fans to an across the board dance-fest at times.

People of all ages were sporting their best dance moves to her songs. Old, balding men, teenage girlfriends, young adults, and couples of all ages stood in the crowd rocking out to Marina. 

Marina and the Diamonds have a hint of Kate Nash's quirky-up beat melodies shown in, "Are you Satisfied." Throughout her entire set,  I kept telling myself "She is so talented," "She sounds spectacular."

It wasn't until she began singing a few verses of her most popular track, "I Am Not A Robot" in a cappella that I realized how extraordinary Marina really was.

Not only does Marina have a broad vocal range, she can easily transition her show from seeming like a Lada-Gaga-esqe spectacle to a more soulful, intimate performance, very reminiscent of Regina Spektor, playing a more mellow, stripped down song on the piano titled, "Numb."

However, she can easily jump back into her dancing groove singing "Hollywood," decked out in gaudy glasses with dollar signs as the lens and a letterman jacket. 

Throughout her entire set, no one ceased to boogie, shake a leg, or bust a groovy move to her songs, at times jumping in the air clapping endlessly.

However, as a surprising twist for her last show, she sang a cover of 3OH!3's "Starstruck," in a completely toned down manner, singing the verse "Now, L-o-v-e's just another word I never learned to pronounce" slowly and softly, completely altering the song's effect from what was originally an almost repulsive song to an extraordinarily beautiful one. There aren't many artists who can do such a remarkable feat.

Marina Diamandis, the lead singer of Marina and the Diamonds said to her fans at the end of her show, "I am Marina and you will always be diamonds." Perhaps another reason to love her so.

To reach reporter Julie Tong, click here.



 

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