A duo opened for Nick, and I quite honestly wasn't crazy over them, so I was glad that their set was only a few songs. I can't remember what they were called; it sounded like they said Cassie & Monroe, but they said that they had a Twitter account, and when I ran a search for them on Twitter, I found nothing. They were sort of like a blend of pop and rap, with one of them singing and the other rapping. Their songs were silly and fun, but as I said, I was there to see Nick and wasn't really all that into them. Fortunately, after their set, fans didn't have long to wait until Nick began his set. Immediately, I was pleasantly taken aback by the screens on stage, demonstrating all sorts of strange, trippy images, some of which seemed an awful lot like a James Bond film intro. I don't know why (probably because the concert was in a gym on a community college campus), but I really wasn't expecting the show to be so visually stunning, but I sure was in for a night to remember, a night of vivid colors, flashing lights, and an awesome setlist, which was as follows:
- Chains
- Numb
- Wilderness
- Good Thing
- I Want You
- Who I Am / Give Love a Try / Hotline Bling
- Warning
- Push
- Under You
- Santa Barbara
- Levels
- Teacher
- Take Over
- Jealous
I was really pleased with the setlist. With the exceptions of "Avalanche," 'Nothing Would Be Better," and "Closer," he performed almost the entirety of the album and then some, and the songs flowed pretty nicely together. I somehow knew that he would open with "Chains" and was right about that. The screen on stage, which was demonstrating moving white shapes, opened up as a door through which Nick entered, making his appearance in a plaid shirt and causing the crowd to roar with excitement. Nick was backed by a band on stage, which I think was guitarist, bassist, and drummer, and the live rendition of "Chains" was pretty awesome because with the band, it was a heavier, rock rendition of the song, which, on the album, is pretty light and soft. "Wilderness" was one of my favorite performances of the show, which is probably mainly because it is my favorite song on the album, and "Good Thing" was a whole lot of fun, too. He is really animated on stage, and you can tell that he is genuinely having fun. The fact that he agreed to play at the New York State Fair for free last month really shows that he does what he does for the right reasons, too.
One highlight for the majority of the crowd really seemed to be when he performed a medley of older songs from his days with the Jonas Brothers and with Nick Jonas & the Administration. This seemed to evoke the most amount of excitement and participation from the audience. Also included in this medley was a brief cover of Drake's "Hotline Bling," with which I honestly had not been familiar. A true highlight for me was his performance of "Push," as this was so fun to watch. Before the song began, a translucent curtain came down behind which Nick stood, and the curtain displayed images of water, making it look as if Nick were under a waterfall (this was one of many really exciting, visually stunning performances of which I captured some video). After this performance, Nick announced that he is currently in the process of working on a new record (which is really exciting!) and then said that the next song was new. The song was called "Under You," and this is a really fun song of which I can't wait to hear the studio version. It was catchy, and I was singing along to it (not to mention enjoying the vibrant colors on the stage) by the end of the performance.
"Santa Barbara" was another highlight for me. Behind Nick was an image of what appeared to be the sun, and the crowd passionately raised their hands and waved them back and forth during the emotional chanting part of the song. I really started to feel very emotional during this performance. Parts of this show really felt like a religious experience, like Nick was sharing a deeply personal part of himself with his audience. Some artists have the ability to do that while others do not as much. He definitely does, which is a large part of the reason why I enjoyed this show so much. "Teacher" is an upbeat, fun song and is definitely a colorful highlight on the album, so of course, it was here, too. Lots of bright, vivid colors such as pink and yellow flashed behind him, and silhouettes of women's legs and women's bodies flashed and danced behind him, which was one part that really reminded me a great deal of James Bond. A lot of the backing videos and images were, as I said, very trippy, and they also flashed quickly and brightly. I kept thinking that as much as I was really enjoying it, I was grateful that I didn't have epilepsy.
After Nick performed "Take Over," the lights of the stage shut down, and Nick wandered off somewhere. I watched in amusement as some people left, believing the concert to be over. I was amused for three central reasons. (1) He didn't even say goodbye. (2) Who would believe that he would perform a show and not perform "Jealous"? Really? (3) They obviously had not been to many shows before, if any, because there is always an encore. That's part of the experience. Hearing "Jealous" was really exciting because it is the song that made me a fan of Nick, and you could tell that the whole crowd was really hyped to be hearing it. The stage flashed with pink and blue lights, with tropical, beachy images of palm trees appearing behind Nick. As I said, this was probably the best show that I have ever attended. Nick was just so vibrant and genuinely happy to be there, and whoever put all that hard work into the videos showing behind Nick really needs to be commended. This show might have also featured the best sound quality that I have ever heard at a show, with the volume of Nick's vocals being perfect and his voice being crisp and clear. If I ever get the opportunity to see him again, I surely will! Thank you for a magical night, Nick Jonas!
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