Shawn Mendes is one of the very best artists I have ever seen live.
I loved every minute of the two concerts that I attended, and he definitely loves to perform. You can see that in every song, every detail, every step of the show.
I saw Shawn Mendes: The Tour in Miami, at the American Airlines Arena, and Orlando, at the Amway Center. I sat in the 100s (to the left of the stage) and the B Stage floor (next to the B Stage where he sings six songs, in the middle of his set). I was with all of my friends, and singing the loudest and having the most fun with one of my very best friends that inspired me to start listening to him. It made the shows even better.
Miami was the very first time I have ever seen Shawn live. It was emotional. I cried. I sang. I danced. I had the time of my life. I couldn't believe that I waited that long to see him for the first time, but I am so happy that I waited to see him with Kait. It was such an adventure - the whole night; seeing the Señorita murals, a disaster with our seats, missing Alessia's set, seeing a One Direction mural in the middle of the American Airlines Arena, and going to sing my heart out was a memory that I'll never forget.
Shawn has speeches that he makes at every show, and his speech during "Youth" really hit me. Having the Miami show only an hour and a half from where Marjory Stoneman Douglas was really impactful. Having an arena full of young children, teenagers, and adults saying that our youth will never be taken away from us is inspiring, and everyone that was screaming the chorus felt it, too.
Orlando was a rollercoaster of emotions. Our seats were bought TWO HOURS before the doors opened and (thankfully) our friend was watching Ticketmaster for us and bought our tickets as new seats were released. Her luck is unimaginable and the journey to the arena was a debacle because of the traffic and outrageous line in the middle of the parking garage. Seeing where our seats were, seeing how close Shawn was going to be to us, I stopped walking and said, "No thank you." Shawn was in our faces at the B Stage and (as we expected) I started crying when he was talking about Julia Michaels and "Like To Be You".
Mendes congratulated two girls that got engaged during "Fallin' All In You" after talking to a couple in the audience that he'd seen at previous concerts. Seeing how much he remembers and loves seeing people together and loving each other was admirable. It's rare to find an artist that cares that much, nowadays.
"Youth" was a different song to me during that concert. It was way different. On that Monday, UCF alerted all of the students about a possible gun threat at one of the dormitory buildings and that was petrifying. I wasn't there, but that was MY school. UCF is where I go to school. It was too close to home. It is so easy to say "not me," "not my school," "not my town..." but it can be.
"In My Blood" made me cry. It was an out of body experience, honestly. Seeing one of my very best friends next to me, my friends scattered in rows around the arena, singing about how we need "someone to help me out," and all I could say to myself was, "I finally have people that help me out." It made me feel loved and so happy at that moment; and that memory of me, singing and dancing and crying, is one that I will cherish forever.
Out of every concert I've gone to, I think that this has to be one of my favorites.
Shawn Mendes: The Tour is one of the very best concerts and tours that I have ever seen and I will be forever grateful for the experiences and memories that I made. Miami and Orlando were incredible and I only want to do it all again.
Everyone should go see Shawn Mendes in concert. He is truly an amazing artist, performer, and person, and he loves what he does. He will make you have the time of your life. He will make you cry, but he will make you sing and laugh and dance so much more.
To Shawn Mendes: The Tour, thank you for the memories.
Until next time. x
