Tuesday 3 December 2013

Justin Bieber Sydney concert review


Before I start, I will preface this by saying I am a father of a teenage daughter. I went to the show because I was lumbered with an extra ticket I couldn’t sell, so I decided to go and see if Bieber could make me a Belieber.

I’ll get straight to the point – the show was pretty good, and a lot better than I expected.

With Bieber, you either love him or you hate him. Frankly I can’t understand why so many people hate him other than that it is fashionable to do so. Which is a pretty shallow reason if you ask me. That’s why I was quite prepared to watch the show.

The concert was at Allphones Arena in Sydney’s Homebush. I went to the Friday evening concert 29 November 2013. Quite a good concert hall, except the upstairs levels have a very narrow entrance and exit, which must be an emergency escape hazard.

The opening act was Cody Simpson. I’ve been to many shows and the opening act usually plays to halls less than half full. However, for Simpson, it was just about full – he seems to be almost as popular as Bieber.


The teenage girls around me screamed like there was no tomorrow. The one directly behind me, I was sure, was going to squeal up an organ. And I’m glad I didn’t wear a onesie – they are so early 2013.



As for Cody Simpson, well I would have preferred Homer Simpson, or even Jessica Simpson. He was not a patch on Bieber. Admittedly he is somewhat younger and perhaps has a lot of development before he can aspire to such heights.

He has an unusual stage persona. Never did he smile. It was as though he revelled in his dark and mysterious character, and given that he is a blonde haired pretty boy, it just didn’t wash with me. But who am I to argue – he’s worth a fortune, I’m not.

Simpson only had a lead guitarist and a drummer as his musicians. Sometimes he played guitar as well. Obviously a lot of the show was backed my pre-recorded music – but who doesn’t do that these days? Two dancers were on stage with him.

He did a set of about 45 minutes. The girls loved it. I thought his songs were a bit insipid.

Before Justin’s show began, above the stage was a static image of a Justin Bieber logo. A couple of times it showed an Adidas ad with Bieber in it, and the girls started screaming all over again. At one point, without notice, the screen roared into life and became a countdown to when the show started – beginning at 10 minutes. This whipped the girls into a frenzy. As each minute counted down, the screams became louder. It was with about 30 seconds to go that I managed to move to a seat away form squealing girls – a brilliant move on my part allowing me to enjoy the show for what it was worth, rather than being influenced or affected by screaming teenage fanatics.

Justin Bieber was reportedly 45 minutes late for this show. However, he seemed to take the stage on time.


I admit I don’t know many of his songs, but most were catchy and enjoyable. My ears strained for any semblance of rock n roll – a strong guitar riff here, a belting drum there, and I was pleasantly rewarded. His musicians were very good. Even pop stars can have good lead guitarists and drummers.

Bieber is obviously an accomplished musician himself as he played guitar, piano and did an impressive drum solo. He also danced up a storm.

The show was choreographed to the minute detail, and the back up dancers and performers did a good job. Bieber used all parts of a multi level stage and the catwalk that extended into the crowd, including bouncing up from under the stage on a couple of occasions.

One of the highlights was when he brought a girl on stage to sing ‘One Less Lonely Girl’ to her.

Bieber came out later in the show without a shirt, looking very buff. He is obviously very fit and I’m sure the girls enjoyed every bit of it.

His final song was the one I’m most familiar with, ‘Baby’.

Would I see Justin Bieber again? No. Was I glad I went to see him once in my life? Yes.