CONCERT REVIEW: Shawn Mendes' Illuminate Tour

Courtesy of BT PR

My daughter Addison will turn seven this fall, which means she is rapidly developing her own taste in music. I started noticing it a few years back, when she became a massive Taylor Swift fan with no influence from her mother and me. One of the highlights of my life was surprising her with tickets to Swift’s massive, sold out tour (thanks to the pop superstar’s amazing publicist).

As fate would have it, that concert is when Addison became a fan of Shawn Mendes, the Canadian singer-songwriter who served as one of Swift’s opening acts. I was also impressed with him for a couple of reasons. First, his brief set consisted of him, a guitar and a microphone – that’s all. Second, I was amazed I could still hear him over the eardrum-shattering screams of the teenage girls who packed the Georgia Dome. In an industry filled with pop stars who can only carry a tune with technological enhancements, the guy’s confident simplicity made me a fan too.

Fast-forward to last week, when Addison heard a radio announcer say that Mendes was coming to Atlanta, along with fellow musician Charlie Puth. To say she flipped out would be putting it mildly. I kicked myself for not doing my research sooner and – just as I feared – when I checked for tickets, I saw they’d sold out long ago.

But I didn’t give up hope. One of the lessons I learned from my mother – which has served me well – is the power of the phrase “it never hurts to ask.” I tracked down the number for Mendes’ publicist and left a message explaining the situation, particularly that I’d love to write about my kid’s experience seeing one of her idols in person rather than on YouTube. Honestly, I didn’t expect to hear back; but a couple of hours later, a friendly voice greeted me and told me she’d see what she could do.

Clearly, Mendes and his team appreciate his young fans, because I soon got word that we’d have tickets waiting for us at the concert. After my daughter picked her jaw up off the floor, we made the 90-minute trip to Infinite Energy Center in Duluth and settled in for what we hoped would be a great show.

We were not disappointed. Charlie Puth performed a stellar, high-energy set, delivering a steady stream of hits (including “Marvin Gaye,” “One Call Away,” “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” “Attention” and – of course – “See You Again”) over a half-hour or so. Addison, like the rest of the girls in the arena (no lie, I saw less than a dozen guys in my section – counting myself), sang her little heart out. I wondered if she would have a voice left when Mendes took the stage.

I shouldn’t have worried. When the lights went down, she lost her mind and I lost my hearing for the next couple of hours. Mendes maintained that same cool stage presence I remembered from the Swift concert, but this time it was buttressed by some truly impressive set design. Gone was the stark stage, replaced with a rock-heavy backup band and lots of screens, lasers, lighting effects, etc. On paper, those aspects seem like they might conflict, but they made for an intriguing contrast in practice.

Mendes sang his big singles, including “Stitches” “Mercy,” “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holding Me Back,” which the crowd echoed back with delight. But he also performed pretty much the rest of his second album “Illuminate,” and I heard the girls around me keep singing all the words just as loud. I’ve been to a ton of concerts in my life, but that’s a rarity.

Usually, when the guy on stage breaks out the new stuff, people in the crowd head for the restrooms or the concession stand. Not this crowd – they stayed for every song and treated each one like it was Mendes’ biggest hit. And you could tell from the performer’s grin that he appreciated their dedication.

A personal favorite of mine was “Lights On,” which I hadn’t heard until he performed it live. It’s a bit more risqué than his previous work (glad lyrics like “I wanna love you with the lights on / keep you up all night long / Darling, I wanna see every inch of you / I get lost in the way you move” sailed over my daughter’s head), but the smooth, bluesy feel illustrates he’s maturing as a songwriter. Plus, the chorus got stuck in my head for a couple of days. I’m guessing that’s a sign he’ll have another hit on his hands soon.

I can’t thank Mendes, Puth and Stefanie Nester at BT PR enough for giving my kid one of the best nights of her life. Days later, she’s still singing her head off and talking about the show to anyone who will listen.