Review: Lil Nas X’s Long Live Montero is an unapologetically queer extravaganza
"Lil Nas X runs through his debut album and more in a tight hour and a fifteen, demonstrating that while he may not have the biggest back catalogue just yet, he is a sensation nonetheless."
Lil Nas X well and truly brought the house down at London’s Eventim Apollo on Saturday (12 November) Stopping by for his solo UK tour date on the Long Live Montero tour, Nas’ first, the rapper gave a rousing and unapologetically queer extravaganza of a show.
“Get ready for a good show and a good f**king time,” the 23-year-old performer yells following an energetic opener in ‘Panini’ and the more personal Montero track, ‘Tales of Dominica’. And he delivers. After ‘Sun Goes Down’ Nas returns to the song that started it all, ‘Old Town Road,’ here mixed with Ginuwine’s ‘Pony’, his own ‘Rodeo,’ and ‘Pump It’ by the Black Eyed Peas. It makes for a high-adrenaline performance. Bringing out dancers in a metallic horse costume and sexy cowboys Lil Nas X gives us a burst of queer joy that we’ve come to expect from him.
The second act turns the queerness up a notch with a Renaissance turn, both the time period and more appropriately Beyoncé’s seminal album. Dressed in queer Renaissance/Madonna at the 1990s MTV Awards finery the rapper and his dancers vogue the house down to ‘PURE/HONEY’ in a crowd-pleasing display.
The final act sees Lil Nas X give the audience the live version of ‘Montero (Call Me By Your Name)’ that we’ve been wanting ever since the song’s 2021 release. After a brief stay at the burial of Satan Lil Nas X transforms into a beautiful, glittering butterfly before treating the audience to a sample of his upcoming second album with ‘Down Souf Hoes’ complete with twerking (of which there is much throughout)
The ring of triumphant horns begins a “pussy poppin” rendition of ‘Industry Baby,’ the closing number and the audience devours every second of it. ‘STAR WALKIN’’ makes for a fitting encore.
The show overall is brimming with campery and queer aesthetics from the sexy American football costumes to the birthing pod that turns Nas into his fabulous butterfly form. Nas is never one to shy away from theatrics and doesn’t disappoint here.
Being the rapper’s first tour the production values are nothing but amazing. From the background animations to the projected monologue interludes between the three acts (Rebirth, Transformation, and Becoming) nothing has been skipped over.
Lil Nas X runs through his debut album and more in a tight hour and a fifteen, demonstrating that while he may not have the biggest back catalogue just yet, he is a sensation nonetheless. Before closing the show, a projection reads “End of the beginning”. The next chapter begins.