The second leg of Sabrina Carpenter’s “Short n’ Sweet” tour kicked off with her first show in Pittsburgh since 2018 on Thursday.
Among fans there was much excitement and some curiosity about what the setlist would look like for this leg of the tour. This is because Carpenter released her new album “Man’s Best Friend” during the break on the tour. Fans’ worries were soon wiped away because Carpenter didn’t remove a single song from the original setlist. Additionally, three songs from “Man’s Best Friend” were added to the setlist. Those songs were “Manchild,” “House Tour” and “Tears,” all of which caused the audience to erupt in cheers of excitement when they were played.
Carpenter kept the audience on their toes through other means as well. During the transition to the song “Juno,” Carpenter always pretends to arrest someone in the crowd, but fans were stunned to see none other than Gigi Hadid being arrested by Carpenter.
During “Juno,” Carpenter also has a part in the show where, after she sings “Have you ever tried this one?” she does a pose on stage, which is different at every show. The pose for Pittsburgh’s night one performance was simple, but it was still nice to see that aspect of the show continuing into this leg of the tour.
Throughout the show, Carpenter had many fun and humorous moments. The show had a retro talk show theme, with several of the song intros fitting into those same talk show vibes. One example of this happened before she played the song “Dumb & Poetic.” Prior to this song, there was made-up ads for things like Oasis Ceiling Fans, which references another Carpenter song called “Please, Please, Please.” Each of the unique intros added to the fun of the concert as a whole.
Carpenter’s crowd work also helped tie the experience together nicely. Prior to the song “Coincidence,” she held a “competition” between the sides of the stadium to see which side could sing the intro the loudest. It was a charming, seamless and entertaining way to engage the audience
However, there was a part that caused some disappointment. During the song “Sharpest Tool,” the screens that show Carpenter to fans who may not be able to see the stage as clearly were turned off for most of the song. This left some fans unable to see what was happening because of where their seats were.
Despite that, hearing Carpenter live was truly a surreal experience and could never compare to streaming her music or listening to her CDs. Her vocals were incredible and on point during the entire show. Plus, the fun choreography made the show even more entertaining. For example, with the song “Manchild,” Carpenter and her dancers did a line dance on s. She encouraged the crowd to dance along.
Carpenter may have been the focus of the night, but her openers also did a splendid job at warming up the stage. Olivia Dean and Amber Mark both had amazing songs in their setlists, which definitely earned them a new listener.
