Sabrina Carpenter performed her first night of the “Short n’ Sweet” tour at Nationwide Arena in Columbus. The album was released Aug. 23, with the tour starting exactly one month later.
Carpenter took the stage around 8:30 p.m. with her hit single, “Taste.” The name “Short n’ Sweet” was fitting, as she performed a set that ran just under an hour and a half. However, every moment was incredible, and her stunning vocals paired perfectly with the ’60s/’70s aesthetic and gorgeous, elaborate set.
The show felt like one big girls-night sleepover party that just happened to be at Nationwide Arena with thousands of fans and Carpenter herself. The evening was nothing short of magical.
This was Carpenter's first ever sold-out arena show.
Carpenter seemed to take significant inspiration from a variety of different television shows, with the setup as a whole having a sitcom aesthetic. One of her wardrobe change intros was even inspired by “Saturday Night Live,” her spoof on it being “Sabrina After Dark.”
There were fun, Carpenter-inspired commercials sprinkled throughout the set, usually thrown in during wardrobe changes or big transitions. To add to the sitcom aesthetic, the screens on the sides of the stage had captions such as “taped in front of a live studio audience” or “parental discretion is advised.”
At one point during the show, Carpenter downed what seemed like a Corona Extra, but she later admitted it was water. Using the bottle, she and her dancers played their own version of the classic spin-the-bottle to determine what the night’s cover song would be.
It was the opening night of the tour, so we had no idea what the other options were, but we definitely screamed when she started singing ABBA’s “Mamma Mia,” as two former theater kids who have both been in productions of “Mamma Mia” the musical .
One of the things Carpenter is most known for is her iconic outros to her hit song “Nonsense” from her album “emails i can’t send.” She would end every performance of the song on her last tour with a three-line outro that changed each night.
For the “Short n’ Sweet” tour, however, she exited under the stage, and a sign appeared on the screen saying they were experiencing technical difficulties. It was a fun, cute way to say goodbye to such an iconic era of hers, also making it a bit less disappointing for the fans anticipating a special outro.
Toward the end of her set, Carpenter looked out to the crowd, saying she was trying to see if anyone came with their parents, referencing a lyric about genetics. She then called over her “girls” and pointed to a random man in the crowd, as sirens blared and red and blue lights lit up the arena. Carpenter announced that he, whose name we learned was Daniel, was under arrest for “being too hot.” She appeared flustered and shy, her long skirt “falling off” to reveal a light blue mini dress underneath .
Carpenter's concert was full of wardrobe changes, transitions and fun moments.
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This segwayed into arguably the most out-of-pocket song on the album, “Juno.” This performance was a whirlwind of colors. Before her iconic lyric, “Have you ever tried this one?” she throws herself into a sensual pose, something she has started to change for each show.
She also made audience members kneel down with her during the bridge, demanding everyone “get down” before slipping effortlessly back into singing.
Carpenter ended her initial set with “Don’t Smile,” a track from her newest album with a chorus that goes “don’t smile because it happened, baby, cry because it’s over.” It was the perfect way to wrap up the show, but it wasn’t upbeat enough to be the end of the concert. Plus, something was missing.
She left the stage, only to return to all of her dancers and crew “asleep.” Carpenter offered them some “Espresso” to help wake them up, and went straight into the fan-favorite single, ending the night.
A set of pre-recorded clips filled the screens after Carpenter left, with her thanking the audience for coming with a series of funny, ever-so-slightly awkward comments about merchandise, the audience singing along and sitting through her singing for “that long.”
This was Carpenter’s first ever sold-out arena show, and she certainly expressed her gratitude more than a few times. At one point, she took out her earpiece to listen to how loud the crowd was, and she looked like she was about to cry. As special as the night was for the audience, it was just as special if not even more for her. Our girl has finally made it.
Rating: 10/10
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