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.
