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Dean Lewis
Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne
Former Why Don’t We boy band member – now turned solo artist, Daniel Seavey brings his high energy to ignite the stage and swoons the crowd from the get-go.
His energetic and interactive performance charms us as he jumps around the stage and shows off his impressive pipes with an effortless falsetto.
He uses his loop pedal to loop a whole bunch of instruments live before us including piano, guitar, drums and a cello for a mash-up of popular songs by other artists. The impressive performance starts off on guitar with Chappell Roan’s ‘Good Luck Babe’, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Taste,’ mixed with the beat of Bag Raiders’ ‘Shooting Stars and finishing with Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody.’
Seavey loves the attention of his screaming fans and even takes his top off and jumps into their arms in the front of the mosh pit to further increase their excitement.
He performs his own version of Why Don’t We’s ‘Fallin’ (Adrenaline)’ and shares an unreleased song of his own called ‘Love Me Like You’re Leaving.’
“We all inevitably face bad times, and I didn’t for a lot of my life until these last two years when a lot of stuff hit me at the same time,” reveals Seavey. “At some point, right at the edge of me losing my mind, things started to turn around in ways that were so out my control that I had only the option to believe someone’s looking after me,” he shares, before his last song to leave us full of hope called ‘The Older You Get.’
The stage curtain pulls back to reveal a large manuscript of scrunched up paper full of handwritten notes from a journal draped above the stage. A voiceover of Dean Lewis introduces his performance as he says, “Before we talk about the future, let’s look back at all the memories.” Fittingly, he starts off with ‘Memories’ that’s delivered as an explosive full-band rock version tonight.
“A few years ago, I played the Corner Hotel to like 500 people so to do two nights at Rod Laver Arena is fucking unbelievable!” He exclaims. He shares a story about two dates he went on a few years ago – the first date was great; the second date was fucked. It was terrible. So, I wrote a song about it called ‘7 Minutes.’
Three songs in and Lewis claims it’s already the best show of the tour. He shares the sequel to his track ‘Be Alright’ called Hurtless starting off at the piano and then grabs his guitar for an acoustic version of an old fan-favourite ‘Chemicals.’
“I write a lot of depressing emotional songs – I’m kind of just like a single, sad, depressed guy. To be honest my songwriting is very attention-seeking behaviour – it’s a bit embarrassing sometimes,” Lewis jokes, and he dedicates the next song ‘Cold’ to those in the audience in a happy relationship.
Lewis reveals that a few months ago he received a call from Rihanna’s team about a song he wrote that she wanted. “Apparently, she was going to put it out as a lead single three months ago and then all of a sudden she just didn’t want to put it out,” he explains. “It’s going to come out in about two weeks and it’s probably my most favourite song I’ve ever written – even though it didn’t go to Rihanna I’m so happy to have it back.” He shares the brand-new emotionally charged piano-driven ballad called ‘With You’ and it sends shivers down our spines.
He performs a rock version of Taylor Swift’s ‘Cruel Summer’ and brings a fan on stage to play guitar on his Kygo collaboration ‘Lost Without You.’
Lewis and his violinist (Jenny McCullagh) make their way to the B-stage at the back of the floor area for a couple of intimate piano-acoustic performances including ‘Half A Man’ and a duet of‘Rest.’
Lewis returns to the main stage for ‘Waves’ and is joined by his tour supports Rachael Fahim and Daniel Seavey to perform a stunning cover of Coldplay’s Fix You.
“I wrote this next song about my dad. A few years ago, he got very sick, and I started living his dream by going out on the road,” Lewis shares. “My dad is doing so good now and he’s going to come out on stage to play tonight,” he adds, as he welcomes him on stage with guitar in hand to join him for the emotional track ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’ – dedicated to anyone who’s ever lost someone.
The encore begins with ‘The Last Bit Of Us’ – a song for anyone who’s ever broken up with someone. Lewis explains, “I tried to describe the final moment that I gave the girl who I thought I was going to marry, a hug and I knew I’d never see her again.”
Fan-favourite ‘Be Alright’ is the final track of the show and conjures up thousands of voices in the arena singing along at the top of their voices along with him on the relatable anthem.
Words by Michael Prebeg
Behind the Lens Amanda Lee Starkey
