A Short N Sweet Sabrina Show
Last night my daughter and I attended the opening night of Sabrina Carpenter’s 2024 Short N Sweet tour at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. I am a recent convert to Carpenter’s music as I love attending shows with my kids and who knows how many times they’ll want to see shows with their old man.
The excitement in Columbus was palpable. Carpenter has been rising up the charts with her latest album, Short N Sweet, and recently built her army of fans by opening for one Taylor Allison Swift on the Eras Tour. Being open night added to the excitement as we didn't know what to expect, and there was no early access to the setlist, no pictures of merch, and nothing.
We arrived in Columbus in plenty of time to check out the merch, soak up the good vibes, meet some fellow fans, and get in line to enter the venue. The merch booth was set up outside, and it was total pandemonium, so we waited to get a merchant inside. We did take advantage of the photo opp.
The show was sold out so the house was packed. We settled into our seats for the show, and made friends with the fans around us.
The stage appears to be a simple one, stage, middle walkway and a mini heart shaped stage at the end.
The show is set up as an old timey TV variety show. Pre-recorded segments take you through the day of a TV channel, complete with end credits at the end. It's a clever set up. The stage turned out to be more complex, with steps, a living room, bed room, bathroom, all the standard stuff lol. The heart-shaped mini stage served as a sunken living room couch for mid-show antics and a riser, bringing Sabrina closer to the fans in the cheap seats (us).
Production value is high, the band was tight, and Sabrina sounded good and looked great during several costume changes. The show was unexpectedly “short and sweet”, only an hour and half. Any veterans of the Eras tour will be surprised at how quickly they get home. But the shorter show made for a tight performance. 21 songs from her two most recent records. Plenty of crowd interatctions and plenty of screaming.
Overall this was a fun, high energy show. I adore spending time with my daughter doing something we both love so dearly. You can find videos from the show on my insta, TikTok, and YouTube.
The highlight of the night, other than the hype encore of Espresso, was meeting my new best friend, Jesus F. Christ!
