Audio By Carbonatix
Ariana Grande, Boca Raton’s most famous daughter, played her first South Florida show in seven years Tuesday night. And the sold-out crowd couldn’t get enough.
Last night was the first of three dates at Sunrise’s Amerant Bank Arena for the pop superstar’s Eternal Sunshine Tour. Towards the end of the concert, Grande let the screaming fans know this was familiar territory, even if the venue had different corporate branding the last time she sang there. “This is such a special night. The first time I sang at an arena was here. I was eight years old, and it was the National Anthem before a Panthers game. Go Cats!”
This wasn’t a hockey crowd, but they probably screamed at a higher decibel than the fans at any Panthers game. The mostly female audience arrived early, dressed to the nines, bringing its enthusiasm (and vocal cords) to cheer on a tightly orchestrated affair featuring all of Ariana’s biggest hits spanning over the past decade-plus.
In lieu of an opening act, we got a digital clock that started counting down at fifteen minutes. As it got closer to 0:00, the enthusiasm grew until the show began a bit after 8 p.m. with “yes, and?” Ariana, dressed in black, was flanked by a dozen dancers and a live band. She gracefully skipped up and down the stairs of a two-story set that was transformed throughout the evening to portray a bordello, a burning building, and a doll house.
After “The Boy Is Mine,” the band kept grooving as Ariana made the first of several costume changes. She popped back up in the center of the room in a pink dress resembling something her “Wicked” character Glinda might wear. For the only time, she asked the audience for silence as she went into an acapella version of “Eternal Sunshine,” backed by only loops of her own vocals. Things got more upbeat with a one-two punch of “Thank You, Next” and “7 Rings.”
It wasn’t until later in the night that she really showed off her vocal range. She emoted through “Twilight Zone” and “Past Life”, and then put the emphasis on the “B” of R&B with bluesy renditions of “Dangerous Woman” and “Honeymoon Avenue.” The former featured a guitar solo where the accompanist noodled his way up and down the fretboard as Grande showed off her own instrument of choice, her golden voice.
She previewed her new album, due out at the end of July, with a rendition of the record’s first single, the No. 1 hit, “Hate That I Made You Love Me,” a synth-pop tune as laid-back as anything in her catalog. After some bows from her and the dancers, the lights went black. Chants of “Ari! Ari! Ari!” brought her back for a couple more songs, including “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love) and “Supernatural.”
At the end of “Supernatural,” she slowly floated up to the rafters in the biggest special effect of the evening. The lights didn’t come on, but a lion’s share of the fans rushed towards the exits. Audiences know the setlist long before the show arrives in their city these days, so everyone knew the show was over. A beat later, credits rolled on the screen with the names of everyone who worked on the production. In that sense, the performance felt more like a Broadway show than a traditional concert, replacing spontaneity with a tightly produced production.
Fair warning for those who come out Thursday or Friday night: You will probably get the same exact experience we did on Tuesday. I have a feeling, though, that most of the repeat attenders will be just fine with that.
Setlist:
-Yes, and?
-Positions
-Dandelion
-The Boy Is Mine
-Eternal Sunshine
-Just Like Magic
-Thank U, Next
-7 Rings
-Imperfect for You
-Warm
-Safety Net
-One Last Time
-Rain on Me
-Break Free
-Twilight Zone
-Past Life
-Dangerous Woman
-Honeymoon Avenue
-Hampstead
-Into You
-Hate That I Made You Love Me
-We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)
-Supernatural
