BeatRoute Magazine ON Edition - October 2019

Live
MUSiC
Toronto
LIZZO
September 19, 2019
Budweiser Stage
“She is the mother I never had. She is
the sister everybody would want. She
is the friend that everybody deserves.”
That now-memed quote comes from
none other than Oprah, talking about
her idol Barbara Walters, but it may as
well be about Lizzo. We were blessed
enough to catch the “Juice”-y singer
on the Toronto stop of her Cuz I Love
You Too tour, and we can safely say, to
borrow Oprah’s words, we “don’t know a
better person.”
Originally set to play Toronto’s Rebel,
a 2,500 capacity venue, Lizzo was adorably
emotional about the show being
upgraded to the much larger venue due
to demand: Over 15,000 adoring fans
packed the Budweiser Stage—not bad
for an artist who just earlier this year
played a 1,500 person venue (the Danforth)
and didn’t sell it out.
Along with her dancers, The Big Girls,
and the talented DJ Sophia Eris, Lizzo
served on-point choreography and
never missed a beat. She addressed
the crowd in between songs, reminding
them that they shouldn’t reduce selflove
to spa days and mimosas; and that
despite many fans calling her a “hero,”
that we’re all our own hero and she is
just the soundtrack.
To close the night she donned a wedding
veil and sunglasses for the record
breaking “Truth Hurts”—a reference to
the 2017 music video where she marries
herself—and threw a bouquet in the
crowd. She brought out Sasha Flute
and showed off her jazz flute skills. But
the devoted crowd still cheered for
more and after long, loud applause and
chants of her name, Lizzo returned to
the stage for an encore of “Juice.”
Indeed, the evening was “Good As
Hell” and Lizzo is, without a shadow of
doubt, 100 per cent that bitch.
Kate Killet
KATE KILLET