Live Review: Little Mix- 31 October 2019- London O2 Arena
3 min read
Multi-million selling British girl group Little Mix are more than half-way through their LM5 tour. The tour, in support of their fifth and latest studio album LM5 (2018), is exclusively a European tour since the last leg meant to cover Oceana was cancelled. We caught them at the first of five dates at the London O2 Arena on Halloween night, and the show included all four original band members Jesy Nelson, Jade Thirlwall, Perrie Edwards, and Leigh-Anne Pinnock.
Right from the beginning, I knew we were in for a treat as it was obvious that this show was going to be an improvement over their last full tour, 2017’s Glory Days, at least in terms of set design and overall production quality. The stage was framed in interesting abstract shapes and featured several triangle-shaped platforms which were raised and lowered by chains attached to scaffolding on the ceiling, as well as some basic pyrotechnics, all set behind a huge graphics screen.
Comprised of 5 Acts plus an encore, Act 1 started with the girls being lowered down to the stage on one of the floating triangles and showcased a striking red and black color scheme, pyrotechnics and a militaristic theme. Though I was a little perplexed by the suicide vests worn by the male backup dancers, they made a very powerful opening statement with Salute, Power, and Woman Like Me. Act 2 was a little more light-hearted and featured an Asian-inspired them with insanely bright colored graphics. Starting with an exquisitely choreographed rendition of Wasabi, it included Bounce Back, Only You, and finished with an exuberant rendition of Black Magic. In Act 3, the ladies were raised up from below the stage wearing stunning nude-colored, tightly corseted sequin gowns and dramatically floated above the crowd on the clear-bottom platform about two-thirds of the way down the center of the arena. This act featured some of their well known ballads Told You So, Secret Love Song, and The Cure and showcased the bands incredible vocal talent and reiterated the fact that these women are not style without substance. Act 4 was fun, funky, and urban while Act 5 was a fiery act that opened with their huge hit Reggaeton Lento and a few more ballads. After a brief exit, they closed the show with an encore of More Than Words, and Touch.
LM5 definitely represents an elevation in the quality of production from previous tours, and I think it is easily their best show yet. Clearly very polished, the show offers a complete entertainment package of visuals, music, and choreography that audiences expect today with high ticket prices. Though I sometimes struggle to reconcile the message of female empowerment being expressed almost exclusively through sexuality, that isn’t my bone to pick and I don’t take it too seriously. In the end, I’m just looking to be entertained, and in that respect the show definitely delivered.
Setlist:
Act 1
Salute
Power
Woman Like Me
Act 2
Wasabi
Bounce Back
Only You
Black Magic
Act 3
Told You So
Secret Love Song, Pt. II
The Cure
Act 4
Joan of Arc
Wings
Shout Out to My Ex
Woman’s World
Act 5
Reggaeton Lento Remix
No More Sad Songs
Think About Us
Encore:
More Than Words
Touch
::: Renowned For Sound Technical Director and Film Reviewer ::: Robert is an IT geek, movie fan and part-time movie reviewer/editor. Robert also looks after the ‘behind the scenes’ technical elements of Renowned For Sound.
