Benson Boone was certainly Arizona’s most wanted as his headlining arena tour sold out Mortgage Matchup Center this week. The backflipping pop superstar’s Wanted Man Tour took Boone’s production and presence to new heights and his devoted fans were on their feet to sing along all night.
Indie pop multi-instrumentalist Luna Li emerged with gentle grace for her very first arena show and proceeded to entrance the audience with her ethereal vocals and vast musical talent. She swapped between guitar, harp, flute and violin throughout her performance, wowing the room with her range of skills and beautifully executed songs. With her band holding down a solid presence behind her, she worked through a few sound issues with poise for a performance that has already catapulted her to the next level- and won the hearts of plenty of new fans in the process.
The buzz inside the arena grew in pitch and fervor as the lights went down and the stage transformed into Benson Boone’s playground. From the opening credits that had Boone emerging through a cloud of smoke- right into one of his signature flips- he never stopped moving and made every single person in the audience feel like an intimate part of the show. Boone toed the line between a family-friendly performance (complete with a birthday serenade for his grandmother) and a more adult side with his open vest that put washboard abs on full display. Regardless, plenty of parents were more than willing to bring their kids to the party and there were plenty of younger folks escorted by family members who were equally excited to be there.
The set started strong with “Sorry I’m Here for Someone Else” and “Mr. Electric Blue” as Boone bounded across the stage’s lengthy catwalk to a circle that had him up close and personal with the barricade bunch. He also teased the crowd, saying he couldn’t play his hit single “Mystical Magical” on Monday before launching into a rousing rendition with the audience as his backing choir. The entire stage was an amalgamation of moving parts- from the rising platform at the b-stage to the flying dais that swung Boone high above the crowd before showering the stage with sparks later in the show.
Boone was playful and interactive from the moment he stepped onstage, twisting into a Spiderman pose (mask and all), high-fiving the fans in the pit and bringing his stellar band front and center for every magical moment. The audience, for their part, fell at his feet as the room was showered in patriotic confetti during “Young American Heart”. Boone has an impressive vocal range and one that easily reached the rafters of the arena on “Momma Song” and “The Time of My Life”.
Forgoing an encore, Boone and his band jammed through “Cry” and the anthemic “Beautiful Things” before a lengthy outro found him running the entire barricade, stopping along the way to sign countless items and truly connect with the crowd that brought him to this level. There was a moment for every demographic in a way that could have felt kitschy and forced but somehow never crossed the line into corny. Instead, it was plain to see why Boone is Arizona’s most wanted- and he’s wanted back in Phoenix as soon as possible.
