Canadian pop star Carly Rae Jepsen brought her ‘So Nice’ tour to Dublin this weekend for the first night of the European leg of the tour and it was a fantastic night of pop hits from start to finish.
Lewis OfMan opened the night with his synth heavy dance set. This was not the way I thought the night would start but it was a stroke of genius as Lewis got the crowd moving early on with his epic synth bass lines and groovy drum beats. Lewis took the stage on his own with his 3 synths and his laptop. After a few songs Lewis took front of stage and displayed his vocal ability while also showing off his dance moves who h were equally as impressive. The highlights of the set came from Lewis’ synth solos which sounded incredibly like a guitar, which is not something I have experienced before and got the crowd hyped up for what was to come.
Although Carly Rae Jepsen is predominantly known for songs such as ‘Call Me Maybe’ and ‘I Really Like You’, this concert really highlighted that there is so such more to her as an artist than these two songs as she played a 26 song set jam packed with sensational pop hits from end to end.
Her band took the stage first and opened with the Intro to the first track ‘Surrender My Heart’ before Carly Rae took the stage at the top of the stairs in epic fashion, before working her way down to the front of stage. This was a great opening track was the dancy vibes took off right from where Lewis OfMan left off.
The setlist was a really satisfying mix of old and new still including a lot of great songs from older albums ‘Dedicated’ and ‘Emotion’, while still including a majority of the new record ‘The Loneliest Time’. The next two songs were older with ‘Summer Love’ and ‘Run away with me’ before heading straight back to the new record with pop masterpiece ‘Talking to Yourself ‘ .
The older hits kept coming with ‘Too much’ and ‘Julien’, which was certainly a crowd favourite on the night. Jepsen debuted a number of songs from The Loneliest Time including ‘Bends’, ‘Bad Thing Twice’ and ‘Shooting Star’.
Jepsen’s range within the pop genre is impressive ranging from the dance groove of songs like ‘Emotion’ to slower , more emotional songs such as ‘Western Wind’. ‘Call Me Maybe’ came 12th in the set. It was an epic sight with Jepsen bouncing around the stage with the crowd screaming back every word. The energy was kept up with ‘Stay Away’ and ‘For Sure’, during which the band showcased their skills while Jepsen left the stage for a quick outfit change.
Next song up was the title track of the tour ‘So Nice’ before another crowd favourite ‘I Really Like You’, in which Jepsen demonstrated her unbelievable vocal abilities absolutely belting the chorus. Another highlight of the set was support act Lewis OfMan returning to the stage to debut their song ‘Move me’ which was a really groovy track that showcased both acts ability to perform in a live setting.
My favourite song on the night was ‘Go Find Yourself or Whatever’. This rendition saw Jepsen taking a seat on stage while singing back the stripped back break-up song with the crowd responding with their flashlights and belting back the lyrics. ‘Beach House’ was next and was a shocking contrast to the last track. ‘Beach House’ boasts a tremendous bassline and strong beat while Jepsen recalls her troubles in online dating apps during the pandemic, once again showcasing her great songwriting abilities! The last song in the main set was ‘When I needed you’.
The Encore was full of energy with Jepsen playing 3 of her biggest tracks ‘I didn’t just come here to dance’, the viral hit ‘The Loneliest Time’ and ‘Cut to the Feeling ‘, ended the night on major high.
This concert just felt like a big party with everyone dancing from start to finish while Jepsen out on a fantastic display of pop music at it’s finest with catchy beats and great lyrics. Be sure to catch the European leg of the ‘So Nice’ tour if you get a chance!
