Music
Justin Bieber
SSE Hydro, Glasgow
Marianne Gunn
Three stars
HYDRAULIC platforms, flashy pyrotechnics, laser displays... this was not an arena gig meant to showcase mere music; what the 'Purpose' tour turned out to be was a masterclass in ace choreography. I am not one of his target audience members, never been a Belieber (at a push, more of a Timberlake girl), and, for me, vocally he just doesn't cut it. But dance? He's got the moves. Which is just as well as for most of the show he wasn't singing. With cheesy links between songs, Bieber promised to "show the world" he was both good enough and strong enough, before he re-entered in tartan trousers, a little like pyjama bottoms, accompanied by aerial acrobats – naturally.
Boyfriend was the first track where it appeared that he was actually singing and then he had a strange dig at the venue when he said: "It's a weird set up but I'm going to make it work. We're going to vibe out." An acoustic guitar performance was later followed by a drum solo, and Love Yourself was one of his more memorable (almost tuneful) performances. On a huge trampoline over the standing masses, Bieber nailed a couple of tumbles, during which there was absolutely zero pretence in keeping up the charade that he was actually singing. The funniest moment, perhaps, was when he sang into his water bottle instead of the hand-held mic (the backing track and pre-recorded, digitised vocals did not seem to mind).
Children – performed with young dancers from Coatbridge _ provided two things: an Ibiza breakdown chorus and a comedy moment when Bieber couldn't tune into young Regan's North Lanarkshire accent. "We all have a purpose; we all have a calling," Bieber cried, rather patronisingly, introducing title track Purpose before What Do You Mean? and Baby broke the sound barrier with the decibel level of teenage screaming. Although not a hugely musical experience, for his masses of young fans it certainly was a sensory one. Parental chaperones: look out your earplugs.
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