Adele live at Etihad Stadium, 19 March, 2017
In the final concert of the Australian leg of her tour, Adele captivated yet another stadium full of people on 19 March, 2017. Due to reports of the beloved British artist being wheeled to the stage in an oversized tech crate, the crowd was already amped up by the time the stadium's lights dimmed when the first chords of Adele's smash hit Hello echoed out. She's an untraditional performer on an in-the-round stage, making her long awaited concert all the more intimate. Following Hello, she belted Hometown Glory, another hit from her most recent album 25. Her voice is as velveteen as it is on her recorded tracks, so it was no surprise that she was able to fill over 77,300 seats at Etihad Stadium on Sunday night. She was never without a beaming smile plastered across her face as she waved to the crowd following her standing ovation just two numbers into her eighteen song set, a testament to the hypnotic power she held over her fans.
It's clear that Adele is more than a performer; she's an entertainer, and she was nothing shy of entertaining as she poked fun at her inability to dance like Beyoncé, and as she went into great detail about the extent of sweat that was masked by her gorgeous, Swarovski-jewelled dress. Similarly, she wasn't afraid to reprimand the venue's clerks for telling people to sit down, comically asking them "if you aren't standing up at a concert, why are you f****g here then?" She interacted incredibly well with her fans, singling out a man who had burst into tears as she walked past before pulling him and his partner on stage. Everyone was more than shocked at what unfolded before them; a concert rarity in the form of a proposal between people who were seemingly two of Adele's biggest fans. With her cockney accent and all, Adele had a mouth like a sailor, but it was more endearing than profane, especially when she divulged several curses in response to the surprise proposal. Adele is no stranger to past eras, from her famous 60s-esque winged eyeliner and the retro 70s rock and roll vibes of I'll Be Waiting. Mid-show she motioned for everybody to stand up and dance for the few song of hers that weren't "sad and all about [her] ex-boyfriends". The strong bass and blues-like feel of Rumour Has It had everyone tapping their feet to the beat, if not getting right into it with some of their own moves. Adele joked with the crowd about wondering if she was the next James Bond as she described the process of writing her Oscar-winning track for the film of the same name, Skyfall. For the song's duration she was joined onstage by an all male choir, about which she jeered, "I wish they were shirtless, but they're not, which is a bit of a disappointment". Regardless of the abundance of shirts, the men delivered rounded baritone harmonies to the Bond hit, reverberating throughout the stadium's speakers.
It wouldn't be an Adele show without the appearance of the vastly reported t-shirt gun, and appear it did, with Adele launching four signed tour t-shirts into the crowd, all bundled with an extra twenty dollars "for a drink"! For someone who is very forthcoming with the fact that she suffers from nerves, Adele is extremely open about her life and the difficulties she's endured. She stated that her worldwide tour - which spans 122 dates - has been made all the more easier with the support of her family, specifically her new husband, Simon Konecki and their son, Angelo, for who she wrote her song Sweetest Devotion. Adele has a talent that should be more than celebrated. It's a talent she shared with everyone in the room and despite the impressive pyrotechnics throughout the show - most specifically during Set Fire to the Rain - it could've been just two hours Adele and a microphone and fans would leave no less than impressed.
The heart warming kiss cam before the encore featured couples around the stadium, including the poor guy who'd fallen asleep despite the ear-piercing screams from those around him. Moments later, the cherished singer returned to the stage to perform When We Were Young, which was accompanied by a reel of childhood photographs on the circular screens above the stage. She also paid homage to the late George Michael, with the screen reading "We'll miss you George!". From her Sophomore album, Adele's Rolling in the Deep brought the house down - as well as handwritten
confetti with song lyrics - with Adele inviting the crowd to sing an a Capella backing to the song's final chorus. She closed the show with what is easily her top hit, Somebody Like You and, as if it were a reflex, the whole crowd continued to sing as Adele stood back and admired her audience before concluding the song. She exited the arena down the aisle from which she was wheeled down earlier that evening and despite her departure, the crowd's acknowledgement of the night's brilliance didn't cease. Adele's influential performance and enchanting stage presence cannot be put into words. It was a show that had to be seen to be believed, but needless to say, Adele's personable and welcoming nature had a lot to do with the performance's individuality. It's obvious a lot of heart went into the pre-production of it all, making it a night that will be near-impossible to forget.
