Concert Review: Justin Bieber at the 3Arena

“It’s not about me – it’s about us.” Those words from Justin Bieber before he sang the theme song of the Purpose World Tour at the end of tonight’s show seemed designed to deflect some of the flak he has endured recently. Not that anyone really cared about such matters tonight. The first of two sold-out nights for the former Canadian teen idol – and now almost grown-up global superstar – saw one of the most spectacular stage productions ever to hit these shores. The lighting, video backdrops and pyrotechnics on the two-tier stage are breathtaking, with intermittent puffs of smoke, cascading flames, swirling laser beams and sundry other technical wonders making for a visual feast. The dancers – a dozen of them – would be impressive even without the main act, as they back-flipped, somersaulted and gyrated throughout the tightly choreographed affair.

Still, the 22-year-old’s entrance was a tad bizarre. Arriving trapped in a glass cage swinging from the rafters, Bieber looks a bit lost, as he tentatively finger-draws the lyrics of ‘Mark My Words’ on the windows before jumping onto the stage. He stands still momentarily to deafening screams, then promptly disappears again through a hole in the ground.

Soon he’s back, running across the top of the stage and striding down the ramps towards the front, and all is well. Wearing a tricolor t-shirt with the words “Dublin Bieber” emblazoned on the back, the singer is greeted deliriously by the crowd, who sing along to dance tunes like ‘Where Are U Now’ and the techno-fuelled ‘Get Used To It’. Orange lights bathe the arena for the spacey mid-tempo ballad ‘I’ll Show You’, while a suitably clubby interlude precedes ‘The Feeling’, and a trampoline is lowered from the roof for ‘Company’.

There’s no sign of Bieber throwing a strop similar to his recent Manchester gig, where he reportedly walked off in a huff, but you get the sense on occasion that he’d rather be anywhere else than in front of the adoring hordes. At other times, though, he does seem to allow himself to enjoy the proceedings. He doesn’t say a lot, apart from a quick “Dublin how are you feeling tonight?” and a few other brief introductions, most of them indecipherable in the din.

He asks for quiet during the slow numbers and – all credit to the crowd - he gets it for the most part and seems delighted. Those brief moments of intimacy work well, especially during ‘Love Yourself’, on which his vocals really hit the mark, and he proves he’s not half bad on guitar either.

It’s a long-ish show for a pop act and the interval offers a welcome respite from the full-on spectacle. The final section is all about Bieber elaborating on the aforementioned “Purpose”, as he tells the crowds to be good to themselves and not to give up on their dreams, etc. The encore, ‘Sorry’, finds him standing among the dancers in a hoodie getting soaked in the “rainfall”, while he hugs each one of them before exiting stage-right, dripping wet. Overall, a state of the art pop show.