During Labor Day weekend, my friends and I attended the Meghan Trainor concert at the Allentown Fair. The scenery was normal for a Saturday night venue. Parents scrambled with their Meghan Trainor fan-crazed children to find their seats, adults were filling up their stomachs with carnival foods and cheap beers, and almost everyone was beaming up the scenery with their Meghan Trainor glow sticks and vibrant Lightsabers. The seats, in general, were average balcony level quality, where a green pole by the bleachers was almost most likely to obstruct part of our view. My friend was unsure whether or not we would even be able to hear Meghan sing from all the way from where we were sitting, and whether or not she (Meghan) would let the background vocals do most of the singing for her. It was not until the opening act, Hailee Steinfeld came on stage with an overly enthusiastic attitude that I knew that the concert was going to be nothing more than amazing.
I was familiar with Hailee from her films, True Grit (in which she was awarded an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress), and Pitch Perfect 2. What made her stand out from other opening acts I have seen in the past, was her spectacular singing voice and the way she was able to move with her dancers on stage and bounce along with the choreography. Every time a song ended, she would ask the audience if they were prepared to hear Meghan Trainor sing. Forty-five minutes into the opening act, I was ready to put my feet up on an empty seat from all of the dancing. I was unsure if I would have enough energy to dance and groove for Meghan Trainor.
My friends and I waited a good 25 minutes, as we began to predict what time the singer would arrive on stage. Sure enough, when the clock struck 8:45, she had made her appearance. She was wearing a shimmering dark blue dress that showed off her amazing curves and had a contagious enthusiasm that could make all of Allentown want to sing along with her. The stage lights started flashing and the mood was filled with thrill and joyous emotions. As soon as she began singing her first song, I was unable to stop drumming my feet. The 22-year-old grammy winning singer impressed me beyond belief as she danced with her choreographers to Me Too and All About that Bass, not missing one beat. With each outfit change she made, her attire continued to further sparkle and shine, expressing her bubbly personality more. From a shimmering black and white gown to a sexy shimmy red dress, her voice was on point and every note she sang felt so real, as if she were telling a story to the audience. Each set was better than the rest, representing the themes to each of her songs. Even hearing her sing an acoustic ukulele version of her song sent chills throughout my body . Did I mention the girl can play ukulele like a pro?
(Here's proof)
Two important factors that make Meghan Trainor stand out from other concerts I have seen in the past (maybe I will save that for another article), is the messages she sends out to her fans about remaining true to themselves and not letting others control their destinies and the way she honors her fans. Near the beginning of Meghan's performance, she did a special shout out to both of her parents who helped her along her music journey and even sang a song about each of them. During her song, Thank You, she brought out young audience members to meet her and thank them for making her the musical star she is today. One fan she brought out had a disability and she (Meghan Trainor) said that he had been seeing her perform since she was seventeen. It made me feel emotional and grateful that Meghan Trainor gave so much love to all of her fans, and she appreciated the fans who dedicated their time to listening to her music. She didn't seem like one of those phony singers who made themselves feel like the Queen of England. She took the time to thank all of the ten thousand fans that attended her concert that night. From there I realized how much I really appreciated listening to Meghan's music, and seeing her live.
The finale ended with her singing her song No as red and white confetti exploded all over the stage like a beautiful snowfall. My friends and I were wide awake as the clock landed on 10:15, and we were unable to stop discussing how amazing Meghan Trainor's performance had been that night. We were able to hear every lyric of her song from the beginning to the end, and then her kick-ass finale where she reminded us that we don't need to let any men influence us into making choices we don't want to make. If I could invent a time box and hit the button to go back and relive the concert, I probably would hit the button several times. If you are considering getting tickets to see her in a live performance, I would recommend it a thousand and one percent. Out of all the concerts I have seen in my entire life, she was by far my favorite one of them all.
