Project Description
HALSEY
+ Kehlani
@ Hordern Pavilion
26/4/18
(Live Review)
Reviewer: Kaycee Cool
Just over 2 years since her first Australian show, Halsey is back for her headline tour bringing the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom with her for a run of shows across the nation. With a 2 hour long set and Hordern Pavilion packed to its brim with a sold out crowd of 5,500, we were in for one hell of a night.
“I’m on this stage with a 105º fever because there is nothing in this world that would’ve stopped me from giving you guys the best night of your fucking life” – Halsey
Support act, Kehlani has been celebrating her 23rd birthday this entire tour, her time on stage filled with nonstop high energy tracks like Undercover, Honey, The Way and even a Happy Birthday to her drummer, Quasi.
The crowd of almost 6,000 erupted in screams as the lights dimmed and The Prologue came booming through the speakers.. As the first few bars of Eyes Closed played, Halsey’s silhouette appeared at the top of her stage through a large curtain, as anticipation built during the first verse, the curtain dropped for the hook revealing hakes at the top op the stairs in a sparkling bodysuit. Following with Badlands favourites Hold Me Down and Castle – where we get our first look at Halsey’s only back up dancer, TeeTee.
With a request for us all to get up and dance for Strangers, the care free energy was evident with a smile beaming on pretty much everyone in the room. Taking a moment to welcome us all to the Hopeless Fountain Kingdom World Tour, Halsey launches in to the first of her many speeches for the night. She asks us to be honest before asking how many of us have been following her since her debut album Badlands but when Hordern erupts in screams she laughs saying Badlands didn’t sell the many copies in Australia. Announcing that she’s currently got a 105º fever before reminding us that we’re all warriors and
“wherever you were the first time you heard these songs, I promise you’ll be leave here tonight in a much better place”.
Following her speech with nostalgic Roman Holiday, we get to see Halsey’s first use of pyrotechnics during Walls Could Talk. Always one to be brutally honest, she introduces Bad At Love by with “why do I end up with such shitty people?!.. then I realised I might be the problem”.
While Halsey does her first outfit change of the night, a white grand piano is wheeled out to centre stage and we see Halsey return for a stripped down version of Closer – turning the pop song we grew to hate in to an emotional ballad, its also the first time of the night we really get to hear Halsey’s impeccable vocal range. Ending with another speech about how monumental Closer was, joking about how it played so much, it would be on the radio when she was in the back of an Uber and the driver would turn it down, it played so much that statistically speaking Closer was probably playing on the radio the first time someone brought the baby home from the hospital and “I know it was hard for you guys who had been listening to my music for a few years and you’d be like ‘I love Halsey‘ and they’d say ‘aw yeah! The Rover girl'”.
Keeping the mellow mood for Sorry, before my personal favourites of the night Lie and Don’t Play. Closing out Lie on the water stage, every move Halsey made resulting in everyone in the mosh getting a little wet, followed with Don’t Play ending with the “Women! Don’t play no games!” chant.
Fan favourite 100 Letters had all of Hordern Pavilion up on their feet, afterwards Halsey began the story about the ex-boyfriend who would leave notes in her jeans pocket for when she traveled, telling us about how the line “you wrote 100 letters just for me, and now I find them in my closet I the pockets of my jeans” reminded her of “you’re writing lines bout me, romantic poetry” from Is There Somewhere.
Keeping the tradition alive, Halsey walks into the crowd for Is There Somewhere promising that no matter how big her shows are, she’ll always come down and look us in the eyes because that’s what we deserve.
After another quick outfit change, Halsey is back on stage for Now Or Never and Colors – a highlight as everybody screams back the iconic “your were red, and you liked me because I was blue” bridge.
Following with Young God, you wouldn’t believe she was ill, giving it her all. As she walks off stage with the audience singing the chorus over and over again, soon enough the studio recording of Hopeless comes through the speakers along with a montage of Halsey’s journey throughout the last 4 years.
Not before long, Halsey is back up on stage for her encore, crowd pleaser Gasoline was up first, Halsey and the audience feeding off of each other energy screaming “do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me!?” over and over before Hurricane takes over to close the show.
“When I met you at The Metro we were confused.. and I watched you grow up and today I’m here, when I sing ‘we ain’t ever getting older’ its a special kind of irony. You guys picked me to soundtrack your life, your growth does not go unnoticed in my eyes” – Halsey
As we know, both Badlands and Hopeless Fountain Kingdom are concept albums, so its not surprising to see Halsey’s live shows continue to tell the story, from the outfits to the choreography, she brings her music to life through her performance. The past 7 days I have either been at a Halsey show or traveling across the country for a Halsey show, 3 shows later and I’m still wanting more. Watching Halsey go from The Metro Theatre to Hordern Pavilion is such an amazing feeling, especially since her career and fanbase can only grow from here.
Setlist
• The Prologue / Kanye
• Eyes Closed
• Hold Me Down
• Castle
•Good Mourning
• Heaven In Hiding
• Strangers
• Roman Holiday
• Walls Could Talk
• Bad At Love
• Alone
• Closer
•Sorry
• Lie
• Don’t Play
• Him & I
• 100 Letters
• Is There Somewhere
• Now Or Never
• Colors
• Young God
Encore
• Gasoline
•Hurricane
Connect with Halsey!
AMNPLIFY – ET
Following with Young God, you wouldn’t believe she was ill, giving it her all. As she walks off stage with the audience singing the chorus over and over again, soon enough the studio recording of Hopeless comes through the speakers along with a montage of Halsey’s journey throughout the last 4 years.
Not before long, Halsey is back up on stage for her encore, crowd pleaser Gasoline was up first, Halsey and the audience feeding off of each other energy screaming “do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me!?” over and over before Hurricane takes over to close the show.
“When I met you at The Metro we were confused.. and I watched you grow up and today I’m here, when I sing ‘we ain’t ever getting older’ its a special kind of irony. You guys picked me to soundtrack your life, your growth does not go unnoticed in my eyes” – Halsey
As we know, both Badlands and Hopeless Fountain Kingdom are concept albums, so its not surprising to see Halsey’s live shows continue to tell the story, from the outfits to the choreography, she brings her music to life through her performance. The past 7 days I have either been at a Halsey show or traveling across the country for a Halsey show, 3 shows later and I’m still wanting more. Watching Halsey go from The Metro Theatre to Hordern Pavilion is such an amazing feeling, especially since her career and fanbase can only grow from here.
Setlist
• The Prologue / Kanye
• Eyes Closed
• Hold Me Down
• Castle
•Good Mourning
• Heaven In Hiding
• Strangers
• Roman Holiday
• Walls Could Talk
• Bad At Love
• Alone
• Closer
•Sorry
• Lie
• Don’t Play
• Him & I
• 100 Letters
• Is There Somewhere
• Now Or Never
• Colors
• Young God
Encore
• Gasoline
•Hurricane
Connect with Halsey!
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