Andrew Veeder on October 9th, 2014

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Lorde, née Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor, is 17 years old. That’s important to remember – since, in the 14 months since she played a 10-song set at the Echoplex last August, the New Zealand teenager has become a Grammy-winning, world-touring phenomenon on the strength of her single “Royals” and debut album “Pure Heroine.”

• ||| Photos by Kelsey Heng

On Tuesday night, a month shy of turning 18, she kicked off the second of two sold-out shows at the Greek Theatre with “Glory and Gore,” standing solo under a chandelier hung at center stage and in front of a large black drape, lit by an on-off light show as she danced about, whipping both her long curly hair and black flowing cape back and forth and around and round. Lorde’s presence on stage was confident and she owned it with a maturity beyond her years, dressed like Princess Jasmine with a midriff-exposing top, high-waisted baggy pants, and a matching cape, beginning in black then transforming twice during the set, next to white and then finally red.

Backed by an impressive duo on drums/percussion and synth/samples, her 16-song set had both the teeny boppers and baby boomers in the audience grooving, with multiple pairs of millennial girls dancing in place and singing along to numerous songs.

“Tennis Court” and “Buzzcut Season” had the crowd going early in the set, as did a pair of covers in the middle, as she performed diverse interpretations of Kanye West’s “Flashing Lights” and Bon Iver’s “Heavenly Father,” with gaseous foam bubbles shooting out from either side of the amphitheater to float above and then evaporate over the crowd. “Ribs” failed to inspire the full-blown dance party she was looking for, but the next song, a stripped-down version of “Royals,” drew one of the biggest responses of the night.

It was really only after a fan gave her a rose that she cracked into a huge smile and humbly remarked about feeling shy in front of nearly 6,000 people, and went on a long tangent talking to the audience and thanking them for their support. She also played a new song, “Yellow Flicker Beat,” from the forthcoming “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1” soundtrack due in November, in one of its first live performances, and “Team,” which ushered in a storm of confetti that rained down on the crowd, each paper square stamped with an emblem of Lorde’s hair and silhouetted face, before closing with “A World Alone,” and roaring applause from the audience.

The duo Majical Cloudz opened the evening, with singer Devon Welsh introducing the show, the band, how they were going to open, how Lorde asked them to join this tour, and how they were different from her, with a refreshing, matter-of-fact sincerity. During their half hour set, bandmate Matthew Otto provided the production and backing vocals as Welsh clutched the microphone and its cable in each hand, often singing directly and earnestly to the audience with the feel that he was getting a lot of things off of his chest. Their second song, “Savage,” began with the lyrics, “Listen to this song / I want you to know it’s how I feel,” before both captivating and cutting you down with its simplistic power.

Welsh dedicated the song “Childhood’s End” to all of the fathers in attendance, and “Call On Me” to his friend Claire who waited in the wings, after which he humbly apologized for his teary-eyed rendition overcome with emotion. In between songs, he talked about wanting to know the names of the crowd, encouraging them to shout them throughout the performance, so each break for the rest of the set was peppered with audience members yelling their names out, as well as Welsh running the length of the stage with his mic bent down for those up front to introduce themselves. Before the closer “Bugs Don’t Buzz,” he was also given a rose from a fan up front, and proclaimed that this was the best show of the tour.

Between the sets, the Greek’s screens played announcements on repeat from promoter Nederlander Concerts about the proposed Livenation/Ticketmaster takeover of its operation, urging the audience to support the family-owned company in maintaining its nearly 40 year tradition of management, which the Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks will be voting on today.