Live Review: Justin Bieber, Martin Garrix, Sheppard

An opportunistic busker on the bridge leading to Etihad Stadium made a sign that reads, "I Belieb In Ur Generosity". There are loads of smoking teens around the stadium's periphery. As we locate our seats, we appreciate Sheppard's strong sibling vocal harmonies. The boys' onstage uniform is pristine white Ts and black jeans while the girls are all sparkles, pom poms and vibrant dye jobs.

They premiere their new single Keep Me Crazy, which was released today. It's a catchy little number with rim-click drum breakdown. They close with Geronimo, many in the crowd rising to their feet for a bop before vocalist/keyboardist George Sheppard finishes flat out on his back on the stage. 

There are a lot of family gatherings present: mums chaperoning kids. The pouting selfie game is next level, with groups of tweens taking a song and a half to snap a shot that all in the frame are happy with. 

It's maximum "get your hands up!", pyros and bass rumble for Dutch DJ Martin Garrix (who is ranked #1 on DJ Mag's Top 100 DJs list for 2016) and The Weeknd's Can't Feel My Face goes down especially well. One More Time by Daft Punk is another crowd fave. 

Next level squeals greet Justin Bieber's platinum blonde top-knotted image on the giant screens. We hear his voice: "I know what it feels like to fall." Then he appears, in the flesh, inside a transparent cube, which rises up in the air as he graffities the walls inside with a fluorescent yellow marker during Mark My Words.

A troupe of white-clad dancers (there's around 20 of them in total!) swirl around him. Fireworks, smoke cannons - all during Where Are U Now (Jack U cover). Bieber's white jacket with Purpose emblazoned across the back matches his super-white teeth. He wears a grey hoody underneath, black Adidas trakkies and white trainers - super-casual. Pinpoint lasers stretch from the stage almost to the other side of the arena. He's definitely far from the best dancer up there and often looks as if he's half-heartedly marking the routines, but he's constantly in motion and the chorey is (cleverly) pedestrian. 

"Don't forget that I'm human/Don't forget that I'm real" - that he is. 

A lengthy catwalk ensures as many punters as possible cop a close-range squiz. The stage set utilises hydraulics, creating constant interest, lifting and/or enclosing Bieber. There's a sexy interlude with bejewelled, black catsuited ladies dancing and you never quite know where Biebs is gonna appear next. DJ Tay James gees us up - "Single ladies, hands up right now!" (Is Bieber's tour manager taking notes?) There's a look of intense concentration on Bieber's face during choreographic sequences, but he doesn't even really break out in a sweat despite his numerous long-sleeved layers. Boyfriend raises the hollers and there are a lot of dragged-along boyfriends seated in our section. Details on the dancers' costumes illuminate and their skill sets are top-notch, which probably shows up Bieber's lack of effort in this department even more. 

Suddenly a plush burgundy couch rises up in the centre of the catwalk with an acoustic guitar placed on it. Bieber takes a seat and performs Major Lazer's Cold Water ("Everybody gets high sometimes") and Love Yourself, which features the lyrics, "My Mama Don't Like You" (which is emblazoned on the back of a lot of T-shirts on bods tonight). Tearful girls' faces in the crowd flash up on the giant screens. Biebs points to lucky individuals with every "you" during Been You.

His face is a lot more expressive when he's not also tackling chorey. Company is all laidback grooves. Those crotch adjustments are more got a rash than horny. Bieber's voice really shines in the slower jams (see: No Pressure). His band is truly exceptional as is the martial arts-inspired choreography in the section that's accentuated by green lasers. 

A drum kit (complete with "Purpose World Tour" drumhead) rises up for Biebs to demonstrate another of his talents: drumming (and apparently biting his bottom lip helps with this). Four young local dancers come up on stage and expertly join in the chorey during Children. After this song, Bieber asks each kid their name and tells them they did amazingly well, which creates incredibly special memories for them (and it's done in a sincere way). Let Me Love You is a standout, but it's really hard to tell how much of these vocals are live (especially when Bieber doesn't even hold the handheld mic anywhere near his mouth). An innovative contemporary duet during Life Is Worth Living ("Only god can judge me") pulls our focus. 

Dancers wear an assortment of customised black band t-shirts (Led Zeppelin, James Brown, The Rolling Stones) at one point, which is a bit naff. A cranking version of Baby makes it more age appropriate now that Bieber's all growed up. "Everybody's got a purpose," he reminds us before the song after which this tour is named that he performs sitting on the stage and with the mic smooshed up against his nose. Geez, he's got a beautiful face - the camera just loves him! 

Leaving the stage when we're yet to hear Sorry is all a bit obvious so of course it's our encore song. There's glittering fireworks.  Bieber encourages, "No one can be you but you." But it's apparent Bieber is at that point in the tour where he's on automatic pilot. He doesn't seem to get any visible joy out of performing and the show lacks any kind of spontaneity. As Beat It plays over the venue sound system we're reminded this artist still has a long way to go to come close to his heroes.