Concert Review: Shawn Mendes’ Illuminates at MSG
From Vine to Madison Square Garden, Shawn Mendes’ is the living embodiment that dreams can come true. Having stirred his own following by uploading videos of him singing to, now, transitioning into one of the biggest new artists, his story is a perfect reminder that life can really get better. Hence, his Saturday show at MSG, felt laced with positivity and…. tween love.
Yes, Shawn Mendes’ attracts a very young crowd, which though I am young, I am also drinking age. Thus, I did feel like a slight outsider with how easily I could get a margarita compared to some other audience members. Still, Mendes has become such a rising star because his music transpires age. Both adults and tweens can close their eyes and memorize songs like, “Treat You Better” and “Life Of The Party”, which he played. Overall. the youthfulness of the night did not feel excluding or overbearing. On the contrary, it felt, for lack of a better term, nice.
Mendes’ accomplished a major feat in his career by filling up MSG with hoards of people, technically to see an 18 year old kid play guitar for awhile. I say the reality to reveal the beauty of his achievement in for its basic composition. Mendes has a cool, charming voice that endears in its natural friendliness. No one is ever going to walk out of his concert and say, “Hmmm, I don’t like his voice”. Of course, you do! Yet, his power does not lie in his vocals, as much as his presence. Mendes may not have the most vast vocal range, but he has the mysterious “it’ factor that we all know exists in feeling but not words. You just know “it” when you see “it”. At MSG. everyone saw that Mendes’ has the particular energy that can turn a kid with a guitar into a cosmic superstar that fills an arena of thousands. Every fan was eager to see him as if he were the very moon hanging above us.
Mendes’ has an uncanny ability to make his performance always feel personal and new. Despite the huge arena, the rather simple, sky-like set made me feel like I was watching him at Rockwood Music Hall. I think his capacity to make any size concert feel private and intimate is both magnificent and a sign of his continuing, prosperous career. To make an audience feel personally connected to your music is, basically, every musician’s goal. By his encore, piano rendition of Stitches, the starry setlist solidified that Mendes’ can captivate an audience with the simplicity of his being.
Mendes’ ended the night with a declaration that his dream had come true, which was evident in the shear excitement he showed through his every move. Both he and the audience knew, that reaching MSG and having his September 23 album release of Illuminate were literal signs of STARDOM! Forget making it…. HE MADE IT! For more information on Shawn Mendes Click Here.
