CONCERT REVIEW: Dean Lewis Redefines Sold-Out Arena Into Intimate Experience

On the 8th of November, Dean Lewis played his second show at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia. With his Epilogue World tour first announced dates being sold out in both Melbourne and Sydney, there was a need for the second arena show. The Australian singer songwriter has been on an upwards trajectory, with hit after hit being played on the radio, amassing a huge fan base all over the world.

Even just seeing him last year in Melbourne for one show at a slightly smaller venue, compared to just over a year later selling out two huge arenas really does prove his quick growth. 

The crowd started filling up the space in the arena and we had the lovely Rachael Fahim to start off the night. She set the scene for the night, her music is a blend of pop-country and she got the crowd moving, she has a warm presence and looked so natural up on the big stage, Her track ‘Brake Lights’ was a favourite of mine on her setlist, and if you’re into a bit of pop-country, I do urge you to check her out. 

Daniel Seavey was up next, the former Why Don’t We band member has been filling our ‘for you’ pages (well definitely mine) with his catchy tunes, and there was screaming from the crowd as he walked out on stage. With tracks such as ‘Other People’ and ‘Gateway Drug’ it is hard not to Daniel’s signature move is jumping from the stage to the barrier where he would serenade his fans, some even lucky to get a hug from the artist and boy did he get down into the crowd, I think I lost count with how many times he jumped off stage. A headliner giving a support artist this amount of freedom to do what they want is very rare and he did not hold back. The crowd definitely fed off Daniel’s energy as they danced and sung along, showing he was succeeding at his job.

Fans lined the barricade, some with signs in hand, all chatting with excitement. As it turned to 9pm, all focus went towards the stage as a white sheet dropped and a crumpled up large sheet filled with handwritten lyrics created the backdrop to the stage. Dean’s commentary filled the arena through the loudspeakers and the band got on stage, the venue now filled with screams as Dean finally made his appearance. His performance started off with ‘Memories’, one of his first releases off his latest album. Between him signing, all you can notice is his beaming smile out to the sea of fans, taking it all in that there were 12,000 people in this room singing his lyrics back to him. During ‘Lost Without You’ he was joined by a fan on stage who had a quick lesson in strumming a guitar and had her there playing the guitar for the whole song, when it had finished she was lucky enough to be given the guitar to take home. Between songs, Dean took time to interact with the crowd by reading out fans’ signs and even writing out a “Be Alright” tattoo design for one lucky fan. He shared a heartfelt moment, reflecting on his journey by admitting he’s unsure if his career will get any bigger than this, but expressed deep appreciation for where he is right now.

Half way through the set, Dean and his violinist, Jen made their way down to the back of the room where a B stage was set with a piano and guitar, giving those fans further away a more personal experience. Playing ‘Half A Man’ and newly added to the setlist was ‘Trust Me Mate’, after many fans wrote to him asking him to play it as it helped so many people through hard times. It’s safe to say that went down well with the crowd who sang along to Dean who was only accompanied by his guitar. Ending the B stage set on a newer song called ‘Rest’ where he was joined by Jen on vocals who gave a beautiful performance and their voices complimented each other well.

The setlist was made up of some older hits such as ‘Waves’ – a personal favourite of mine and the first song I had ever heard of his, ‘Chemicals’ and also of course adding in tracks from his latest album release ‘Epilogue’, which is full of as many great hits as his previous releases and will no doubt all become classics like his earlier work. Daniel Seavey came back out for their rendition of Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’, which they have now released a studio recorded version of. As if the night wasn’t already full of emotion, Dean also bought out his mum to say a quick hello and he had his dad join him on stage to play guitar as he sung ‘How Do I Say Goodbye’, which he had wrote when he found out his Dad had cancer, that moment definitely brought a tear to the eye. They all left the stage, leaving the fans chanting ‘one more song’ and of course they couldn’t leave without us hearing his huge hit ‘Be Alright’ which was met with one of the loudest sing-a-longs I have experienced.

I am just as blown away this time seeing him live, his raw emotion really shines through even more live. Dean Lewis is a must see act, he comes across as humble as they come, and someone who truly cares for his fans. He has a way of being in the room with 12,000 people, however you feel like it is just you and him. His stage set looked stunning with the backdrop and lighting, however, he doesn’t have the need for the fancy production with confetti or pyro, he is an artist that really just lets his band and his performance speak for itself and it goes to show you don’t need to have all of that in a show for people to walk away and be so impressed. Next up, Dean Lewis will be performing in New Zealand, followed by his final two shows in Adelaide and Perth to wrap up the Australia/New Zealand leg of his Epilogue Tour. After that, he’s heading to the UK, Europe, and the US. If you haven’t secured tickets yet, it’s a perfect time to catch him live!

Olivia Burns

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