Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Emails I Can’t Send’ Tour | A Live Show Review
It’s times like these, wish I had a time machine, so I could re-experience what I did on June 19th… because it would really be something worth going back to. I guess since I can’t go back and you can’t read my mind, I guess I’ll have to settle for something more casual and relive the night through my favourite medium – the written word.
The road to the ‘Emails I Can’t Send’ tour was definitely a rocky one for both Sabrina and myself. We all know just how complicated and messy the last few years were for her by now, so I won’t be dragging that storyline any further. I mean, the album really does wrap it all up in the best way.
For me, however, a long-time fan of Sabrina’s getting to the tour wasn’t as simple. I guess I just didn’t expect the tickets in Manchester to sell out in such a quick instance. Although my sister and I attempted to purchase them fairly quickly, we just couldn’t get our hands on those precious tickets. Before we ended up giving up, we took up a different course of action and as luck would have it, we found a few left in Birmingham. Of course, we did the smartest things we could at the time; purchased the tickets, booked a hotel, and embarked on a weekend getaway. A perfect excuse for a mini road trip!
The Pre-show Jitters.
I’m not an early bird to most things, but when you catch me at a live show, you bet I’ll be in that queue hours before. The queue in front of Birmingham’s O2 Academy was never-ending so it was a good thing we arrived at the venue over 3 hours before the doors opened. As we watched those with priority entry go into the venue, it felt like time was moving even slower than usual. While waiting in line, we purchased two tour hoodies and prayed earnestly for the time to come to hear an echo of screams fill the room.
The Show.
It didn’t take too long for the roaring screams to commence when we were finally inside the packed O2 Academy venue.
We had balcony seats so whilst we could view the entire stage from the top, I didn’t feel as close as we’d have probably liked to be.
To take the stage first in a simple t-shirt and jeans look was up-and-coming artist Annika Bennett. She performed mostly self-written acoustic tracks with her guitar and certainly left an impression. Her set was made up of about 6 songs, but ‘Scared Of Getting What I Want’ stood out the most to me. Definitely an artist I’ll be keeping an eye on in the future!
When ‘Let’s Get It Started’ began blasting through the speakers it sure felt like I could feel the room shake, but it was really Taylor’s ‘All Too Well’ 10-minute that did the rest of the magic. We screamed every single word of the heart-breaking anthem. The perfect prelude to a live show about heartbreak.
Now we were all hyped up and ecstatic for the main show to commence. The curtains were pulled apart to reveal a giant led-lit heart-shaped mirror in the middle of the stage reflecting a crowd ready to get over heartbreak with perfect melodies.
‘Emails I Can’t Send’ was the perfect introduction to the album and likewise the best track to open the show with. The lyrics sure feel like a punch in the gut and set up an emotional atmosphere for the rest of the concert.
Some of my personal favourite fun tracks like ‘Read Your Mind’ and ‘Feather’ were followed up by what Sabrina called the yee-haw! section of the show where she delivered exceptional performances of ’Skinny Dipping’, ‘Lonesome’ and ‘Already Over’.
I always knew Sabrina to be a great performer and vocally talented singer but seeing her bring her art to life on stage so effortlessly was rather impressive.
The audience partook actively in the show, and it was no surprise Sabrina confidently stated it was one of her loudest shows so far. We were all lying to our therapists in ‘Tornado Warnings’ and we were glad to be singing along to some happy songs with ‘Bad For Business’.
Sabrina made it a point to interact with the crowd when she stopped playing her personal hits to ask fans to make their recent heartbreak confessions. Of course, everyone went wild when one fan confessed to having a thing with his ex’s sister. Turns out he wasn’t all that heartbroken anymore!
Unexpected but rather fitting, Sabrina performed a cover of Britney’s classic ‘Baby One More Time’ which suited her so well. She wrapped up the show with her TikTok-famous tune, ‘Nonsense’ and saved ‘Because I Liked A Boy’ for the encore.
Selfishly, as this was my first time seeing her perform live, I would have loved it if she played a few more older tracks too, perhaps from ‘Singular Act I and II’. In fact, ‘Sue Me’ was perfectly placed within the show and was a major highlight for me.
Altogether, Sabrina Carpenter’s ‘Emails I Can’t Send’ was a stellar show. You could feel her passion as she belted out each track like it was the very first time she was singing them. Her voice was super stable and she was in perfect harmony with her band. She certainly had the immense stage presence of someone who has mastered their craft in all the ways, and her many years of experience taking the stage were clearly on display.
if you get the chance to see Sabrina live in the upcoming months, well… take it!
Your restless romantic roamer
