Pop Break Live: Finneas ‘Optimist 2021 Tour’ with Marinelli at The Theater of the Living Arts in Philadelphia, PA — November 13, 2021
Finneas stopped by the TLA in Philadelphia on Saturday 11/13. This eight time grammy winning artist is touring in support of his first studio album, Optimist, released on October 15th. This much sought after writer/record producer, along with his sister Billie Eilish, have collaborated on some of the best pop music to come out in the last decade! It’s no surprise then that most of the shows for this tour have sold out.
LA singer-songwriter Marinelli opened the night and performed a really nice set for this appreciative crowd. His banter with the audience was really funny. He got a great response when he finished. He’s definitely worth checking out.
Finneas opened the night with “A Concert Six Months From Now.” He was backed by a two piece band(drums and keyboard/guitarist) during the set. Even though the album was just released four weeks prior to this show, the fans impressed as it appeared they already knew all the words to every song. The place was packed, almost out to the “merch” area. I’ve never seen it like that before. The place was absolutely buzzing. He gave a little shout out to Philly saying the fans were good to him the last time he and Billie played the area and that he appreciated it.
His new album is heavy on the ballads so he spent a lot of time playing this very unique white piano that had cutouts so that the light shone through. It was quite stunning. The lighting during the night ranged from moody blues to reds and greens. When he wasn’t jumping around on stage or getting up close and personal with fans at the front of the stage barrier, he was playing guitar. I turns out he’s a very charismatic performer and it was fun watching the crowds reaction to him.
The setlist was heavy on songs from Optimist and some standouts were “Only a Lifetime,” “The 90’s,” “The Kids Are All Dying” and “What They’ll Say About Us.” Finneas also played some great stuff off his 2019 EP Blood Harmony that included “Shelter,” “Partners in Crime” and “I Don’t Miss You at All”. One of the big highlights of the night was his performance on “Till Forever Falls Apart”, the Ashe/Finneas collaboration released in March. He sang from the top of the piano, tossed his suit jacket on stage then jumped. He followed this up with the encore “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night.”
This was a very impressive performance. Finneas has a really great radio-ready voice. I walked away thinking “this guy can sing just about anything”. The set was filled with catchy pop songs, touching ballads (whose lyrics just get stuck in your head), numerous sing-a- longs and one of the happiest crowds I’ve ever been a part of. What a great night for Philly fans!
Setlist (via setlist.fm)
A Concert Six Months From Now
The Kids Are All Dying
Angel
Claudia
Happy Now?
Only a Lifetime
I Don’t Miss You at All
Shelter
Partners in Crime
Love Is Pain
What They’ll Say About Us
How It Ends
Medieval
Around My Neck
I Lost a Friend
The 90s
Break My Heart Again
Till Forever Falls Apart
Let’s Fall in Love for the Night
