What Was That?? A biblically accurate portrayal of what went down at Lorde’s Park

Lorde … what was that.

Let me preface this story with the fact that I didn’t see Lorde, however I did experience the chaos. This was my Tanacon.

When Lorde tells you to meet her at the park, you meet her at Washington Square Park. DUH.

Upon arriving at 5:30 PM, Steven, Alyssa, and I secured second-row seats in the pit of the water fountain and proceeded to watch skateboarders fall repeatedly (eww) for the next few hours.

An approximate four minutes before 7:00 PM—when Lorde was expected to arrive—she posted on her Instagram story that the event was shut down and suddenly the park was silent. When the other Lorde lovers and I saw a photo on Twitter of just how many people gathered outside the fountain, we were shocked. The volume of people gathered in and around Washington Square Park was…unfathomable.

Within the next new minutes we spotted police, a woman from the parks department yelled at us, and some kid played the violin. As the next small band decided it was their turn to play in the fountain, the crowd started to move towards the south east corner of the park. You could hear music playing. “Is Lorde here??” we all thought as we ran over — but alas, it wasn’t her. It was just someone with a speaker starting a mosh pit.

@elsalafollette

lorde where you at #lorde #lordemusic #ribsbylorde #lordenewmusic #lordealbum #nyc #lordealbum #newyorker #lordepark

After a five song speaker set, I managed to sneak around the pit and see that police presence was growing rapidly as they tried to break up the crowd. So in true mosh pit fashion we moved around the park and into the streets.

According to the internet, it was at this point that Blood Orange, also present in the mosh, played “Bound.” My claim to fame? I ran past them while almost getting hit by an old man on a city bike— a NYC canon event.

As the parade (or riot, depending on who you ask) made its way down 6th Avenue, the group turned, beelined for Electric Lady Studios and proceeded to yell at the door.

I was close to the door of the studio but had my back against a parking meter, and as I swung my camera around to capture videos of the massive crowd, a head popped into the frame behind me — it was a man climbing on top of said parking meter towards the roof of Electric Lady Studios. Why not?

@elsalafollette

sorry guys but like where was lorde #lorde #ribsbylorde #lordemusic #lordenewmusic #lordealbum #nyc #newyorker #lordepark #lordewwt #elect... See more

I moved out of the way as the man stepped on someone’s raised hand to make it to the roof in a Solar Power album cover-esque fashion. Between screaming the lyrics to “Supercut” and our very creative chant, “We Want Lorde,” the cops returned to shut down our joy.

As I frantically made my way out of the vicinity of Electric Lady Studios, I made sure to walk through Washington Square one last time, in a state of wistful yearning. With my phone at an unhealthy 10% and four hours wasted waiting around the park, I resigned any last attempts to see my favorite artist perform live and headed home….only for her to perform in the park 20 minutes later.

Yet still, I believe our time is coming. Washington Square Park officially marked the start of Lorde Summer. This is only the beginning.

Curious about what else Elsa is into? Get updates on shelf.im/elsalafollette