Olivia Dean: Live Review

As Olivia Dean wrapped up her massive global jaunt to promote The Art of Loving with her biggest ever stadium show in Auckland at a venue which was getting its debut, there were two ways it could go.

But on a cold and chilly night in Auckland under the stars, it perhaps wasn't the one that the 27-year-old London megastar wouldn't have wanted after technical issues three songs in saw her pause the show for what she promised would be two minutes, and ended up being somewhere near to 40.

Massive demand for her single Auckland date had seen the show which was originally scheduled to play downtown at Spark Arena relocate to Auckland's Western Springs Bowl, a redeveloped speedway track that is the city's new hope for outdoor live events.

In truth, it seems like the venue itself has a fair few kinks to work out before things are close to perfection. From over-zealous security guards taking chewing gum and lollies from punters and ordering people in the newly refurbished embankment section of the grounds to stand up or else to bottle necks of people trying to leave at the end, there are some niggles which may not make for great reading for the owners.

Let alone the 40-minute technical issue that saw Dean coast by on the fact her brand of soulful simple pop is adored by her fanbase.

It all started so well, with the giant pink-shrouded stage, which appeared to be dressed like a half-open clam, housing both her infectious energy and her mightily impressive band.

Kicking off the show with mega-hit Nice To Each Other, the crowd was ready to lap it all up - and even non-fans could see why her success has come. There's an earnest energy that she extols on stage which is hard to deny - no matter how far from the front you wear. Before So Easy (To Fall In Love) started up, she greeted the crowd, and made note of the fact she'd played Auckland previously to just 900 people and was now doing it for 45,000.

There's a simplicity to Dean's music that's seen her become the queen of radio airplay and tracks from The Art of Loving may not be the most complicated in terms of both lyrics and arrangements, but Dean's pure stage charisma and bounding energy certainly caught the crowd in her sights, leaving everyone in a gleeful mood early on.

But that's when the jolt came as a technical issue meant the band needed to reset - and as the moments dragged on and ominously the promoter came on stage to promise it would be back, things didn't look good.

It has to be said that at this point, Dean could have potentially showed her star prowess as an entertainer. She could have come back out and either spoken to them, wowed them with some acoustic moments (as she did a little later after the 40-minute interlude with the likes of UFO and Touching Toes) or just worked the crowd who were already eating out of her hand. It may seem trite to note, given Handsome Tours who promoted the show had revealed little of what happened, but for a final show, this major hiccup could have been the making of something stellar and unique for her.

Alas, it was not to be - and while after a delay the audience made sure to welcome her back and Dean promised she'd play right up till curfew and none of the 23-strong song set would be cut, much to the joy of those around her.

Three outfit changes, not one hint of a loss of energy and some very innocent and almost-naive stage lessons later about what love can do (which the audience lapped up), Dean showed no signs of losing what makes her a consummate performer in the eyes of many. Along with an extremely strong brass section and backing vocalists, the set, when it resumed, was tight, deft and sonically impressive.

Baby Steps saw the stage turned into a giant glitterball, her 2024 song Time showed a side of funk and soul that was undeniable, a cover of Curtis Mayfield's Moving on Up got the crowd almost euphoric and closing with Man I Need, complete with audience singalong at the end proved the hiccup was forgotten (even if some higher ups won't forgive it).

Perhaps the technical issue and some of the foibles of the Auckland venue may overshadow Olivia Dean's biggest show yet - but for those who experienced it and adored her, this was a magical night where innocence and decency reigned true - and even cynics couldn't help but admire the sentiment.