Jessie Ware is an English singer-songwriter who released her debut album, Devotion, in 2012but really burst onto the pop scene (and charts) with her critically and commercially successful 2020 album What’s Your Pleasure?, hailed by some as her finest work to date. Since then, her popularity has certainly been on a very fast upward trajectory, so much so that we were unable to get tickets to her two shows in NYC (well, tickets that aren’t ridiculously expensive due to price gouging) and ended up going to Philadelphia to see her. She is currently touring in support of her latest album, That! Feels Good! Alexis Petridis from The Guardian gave the album a five star review, stating that “the retro mood of Ware’s brash pop never feels like a costume, as her tight melodies, killer choruses and dry humor wear vintage details with style”.
The “tight melodies” and “killer choruses” were even more amazing live. The show is set at a fictional nightclub called The Pearl, where guests are encouraged to Free! themselves and embrace pleasure, or simply put…feel good. The high energy show was divided into four acts, namely Lady, Lover, Freak and Mother, each featuring a gorgeous costume change. She opened the show in a flowing red kaftan-esque number (revealing a sexy body suit underneath) and matching knee-high boots, followed by an asymmetrical black pleather dress with an abundance of ruffles for Act 2. For the Freak part of the show, she wore a pearl-encrusted bra and a black jacket with even more ruffles before changing into a gold lamé look straight out of Studio 54 for the final Mother Act.
I’m pleased to say that there was no asshole-y behavior from the audience, perhaps because we weren’t in NYC where typical concert behavior leaves a lot to be desired; everyone was just there to have fun and bask in the positive energy radiating from Jessie. I also have to give a shoutout to her dancers, who brought the heat from start to finish, as well as her amazing backup singers (loved their bejeweled shades). She connected with the audience, taking a breather between songs to chat with people, led us through some group choreography for Beautiful People and even did a walk through the audience during her rendition of Cher’s Believe - she walked right past me and I stopped breathing for a few seconds.
The complete setlist was as follows:
Act 1: Lady
That! Feels Good!
Shake the Bottle
Ooh La La
Act 2: Lover
Pearls
Selfish Love
Begin Again
Lightning
Hello Love
Remember Where You Are
Say You Love Me
Kind Of…Sometimes…Maybe
Act 3: Freak
Freak Me Now
Overtime / Adore You
Mirage (Don't Stop)
What's Your Pleasure?
Act 4: Mother
Spotlight
Save a Kiss
Beautiful People
Encore:
Believe (Cher cover)
Free Yourself
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