Photo: WENN
Morrissey once said of Eric Clapton that he had never really experienced playing live. By that he meant that Clapton, and artists like him, would never understand the unbridled adulation of a crowd that are straining every muscle in their arms to push the tips of their fingers just one inch closer to their hero.
By that definition, Meghan Trainor understands better than Clapton what it is to play live tonight. The deafening wall of noise that greets her as she walks out onto the Shepherd’s Bush Empire stage must surely rival anything the historic venue has ever experienced. When opening salvo ‘Dear Future Husband’ fires up there is little respite for the ageing foundations. The slightly confused female empowerment message of the song is swiftly forgotten as Trainor and her excellent band doo wop and sway – to the utter delight of the tweens and teens to whom she is a Goddess.
The beauty of Trainor is that, more than any other pop star, she seems so overwhelmingly on the side of her fans. From asking them to “raise your hands if you’re beautiful” to constantly complimenting individual audience members’ dance moves, there is something pure and genuine about the mutual affection expressed.
Of course, she would never have brought all these people to one place if she didn’t have the songs. And there are bona fide pop classics in the set tonight – even beyond the obvious. ‘Queen’ and ‘Bang Dem Sticks’ both shine in differing but equally powerful ways. All the sparkly skirts and selfies in the world can’t detract from that (the skirts are ace though).
‘All About The Bass’ understandably sends the crowd into another level of ecstasy. Trainor’s faithful fan-base the Megatronz (a reference you suspect the audience aren’t even close to understanding) dance like their lives depend on it and scream until there is no more breath in their lungs.
For all the talk of feeling and brooding intensity in music, you haven’t experienced pure emotion until you have seen the pop princess of the moment play in front of her adoring fans for the first time. Through music, dancing and companionship, Trainor is keeping the Megatronz safe from all of life’s Decepticons tonight. And for a teenage fan, that’s the greatest gift of all.
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