Alyssa Harvey
Staff Writer
You could feel the excitement as nearly 1,000 people scrambled into the Electric Factory when the doors opened at 7:30pm – Christina Perri was finally performing in her hometown of Philadelphia.
The night began with British singer Birdy. She had a 30 minute set that featured some of her most popular songs: “By Your Side,” “People Help the People,” “Wings,” and “Skinny Love.” She also sang a new single, “All About You,” from her upcoming album to be be released June 3rd. Birdy was sweet and soft spoken; she constantly thanked the crowd and Perri for letting her perform on the tour.
After a quick change of set on stage the crowd got antsy waiting for Perri to come out. Stuffed penguins were being thrown all over the place like beach balls.
At promptly 8:30pm Perri walked out onto a purple and white lit stage, the back curtain covered in fairy lights. She began with the first few bars of her song “Trust” but quickly transitioned into “Let It Go” and was joined by her band. After her song “Run,” Christina chatted excitedly with the crowd. She told them how nervous she was to be performing back in Philly and that most of her family was at the concert. She even introduced us to her Grandmother up in the balcony! Perri apologized for “nerding out” a lot because she had always wanted to play at the Electric Factory. She said that she was always in the audience here, but now she was onstage and she just couldn’t believe how lucky she was. She then sang “Distance” and “Sea of Lovers.”
Perri introduced her next song, “Burning Gold,” explaining that the song was about her moving from Philly to LA and how scary and exciting the whole experience was. This fun upbeat song had the whole crowd moving and shaking along with her as the stage was washed out in reds and golds. Perri slowed the tempo of the concert down with her next song “The Words,” which she just sang accompanied by her pianist Emily Grace. Christina then was on stage alone and sang the song “Butterfly;” a song she described as a song about “guys who like to be chased, but never caught and guys who are basically assholes.” She was joined by her band again as she sang “Arms.”
After her next song, “Lonely Child,” Perri asked if there was a girl named Mary Anne in the audience. The girl quickly raised her hand and Christina invited her up on stage. Once Mary Anne was onstage, Perri pointed to another girl on stage and asked if she knew her, that girl was Mary Anne’s girlfriend, who then got on one knee to propose to her. It was a beautiful moment with the crowd awing and screaming and clapping. Christina then sang “A Thousand Years” and dedicated it to the lovely couple. Perri’s next song was “Be My Forever,” a song she wrote and sang with Ed Sheeran on her new album, but sang with her guitarist Johnny on tour. She then surprised the audience with a cover song of “Please Please Me” by the Beatles. The song had the whole crowd dancing along. Perri ended her set with “Human” and “I Believe.”
The crowd kept singing the chorus of “I Believe” in 3 part harmony until Perri and her band came back on stage. She then performed “Penguin” and “Jar of Hearts.” Before “Jar of Hearts,” Christina spoke about how special this concert was to her, how it was the favorite of her tour, and how she wanted to encourage every person that was there to follow their dreams and say yes to things, even if they are scary. The audience sang along so loudly that at times during the song, you couldn’t even hear Perri sing. Most of the song felt like a duet between Christina and her audience. She ended the concert with “I Don’t Want to Break” and at the end of the song she gave a ballerina twirl, took a bow, and exited stage right.
Check out the gallery below for some in-person shots of the show!
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