LIVE REVIEW: Bruno Mars — That's What Perth Liked
Grammy Award winning artist Bruno Mars brought his 24K Magic tour to Perth Arena on March 28 and 29.
Long queues of enthusiastic fans waited to enter the arena; their buzz filled the atmosphere and thousands of fans were proudly clad in his tour merchandise.
Those who took their seats early were entertained by Mars’ vibrant support act, Dua Lipa.
The 22-year-old English artist played for 45 minutes with an ensemble of her most well-known songs such as 'IDGAF', 'New Rules' and a rendition of her 2017 hit 'Scared To Be Lonely', featuring Martin Garrix. She hyped up the crowd with her unique, raspy voice and completely shone, and not just because she wore translucent pants covered in patches of diamantes!
Once the clock struck 9.15pm, it was time for Bruno Mars to begin his set to a packed arena of 15,500 people. Making his entrance in a Hooligans shirt, baseball cap and signature high-tops, Mars opened his set with 'Finesse', performing with exactly that.
After Mars was disappointed that most of the crowd were seated, he asked everyone to stand up, remarking that, “We came to party, we came to dance.” Immediately, everyone got off their feet to dance and sing along.
The setlist consisted of 14 songs from all three of his studio albums: Doo-Woops and Hooligans (2010), Unorthodox Jukebox (2014) and his latest, 24K Magic (2016). The stage setup added to the aesthetic of the night, with the colours and arrangement changing in accordance to every song Just a handful of hits that excited the crowd were 'Chunky', 'When I Was Your Man', '24K Magic' (complete with pyrotechnics), 'Versace On The Floor', 'Treasure' and 'That’s What I Like'. ‘When I Was Your Man’ especially resonated with the crowd; the 2012 hit had just about every person and their torch on their phones illuminating the arena.
It was not only the music that was entertaining, but also the stage. During each song, the stage changed to fit what was playing; ‘Versace On The Floor’ revealed golden arches on the stage, and ‘Chunky' raised platform in the centre with the lyrics of the chorus projected onto it, to name a few.
Mars finished his main set with his classic track' Just The Way You Are', but the crowd simply wanted more. After minutes of eager cheering and clapping, Bruno Mars graced the stage once more with his Hooligans to perform a rendition of Mark Ronson’s 'Uptown Funk', of which he featured on in 2014.
The majority of the show was of an exceptional standard, however, there were some misses. During some songs, the sound was way too high, making it difficult to hear Bruno Mars singing or speaking to the audience. Not to mention, certain sections of the show sounded as if the artist was merely performing to a backing track.
Aside from the few faults, it was an enjoyable night out, with tons of energy, pyrotechnics, dancing, and gold confetti to top it all off.
