#20GAYTEEN Is Real At Troye Sivan's Bloom Tour

Troye Sivan w/ Kim Petras and Carlie Hanson
Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA
11.07.18

“This room is the future,” declared 23-year-old Troye Sivan to a sold-out crowd at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, and his words couldn’t have been truer. Supporting the release of his second studio album, Sivan stacked the lineup of “The Bloom Tour” with young LGBT pop artists that brought just as young and LGBT of a crowd out in droves.

Kicking off the night was Carlie Hanson, an 18-year-old Wisconsin native who looks to Justin Bieber for inspiration and carries herself with a laid-back energy that shone through in her live set. Backed by a drummer and a keyboardist/guitarist on a small swath of the stage, Hanson delivered a short, 30-minute set (she only has 5 singles out on Spotify thus far) that made an easy connection with the crowd.

As she ran back and forth, punching the air and flipping her long bleached hair back and forth, Hanson’s voice rang out clearly, from wispy R&B to louder, angsty pop. With her youthful energy, she was a great choice for opening the night, encouraging the fans to jump and sing and get pumped up for the show ahead.

Next on stage was Kim Petras, who—while she may not want it to define her—is probably most well known for her transgender identity as well as her auto-tuned, Dr. Luke-produced pop. “This tour is a real #20GAYTEEN moment,” said Petras, clad in booty shorts and a track jacket, dad sneakers, and ruffled socks. Flipping her long blonde ponytail back and forth, Petras and her DJ set up the crowd to dance.

“Let’s go fucking crazy,” she said, announcing a new track from her Turn Off the Light, Vol. 1 album, an ode to Halloween that features a guest spot by the one-and-only Elvira. That, plus her latest “Heart to Break” single and several other pop tracks about capitalism, sex, and well, fun, were an unabashed pop indulgence that had the crowd in the palm of her hand.

Finally, Sivan took to the stage with “Seventeen,” the opening track off his 2018 sophomore album, Bloom. Dressed in a maroon suit, standing in the shadows at a mic stand, the track became—like much of his discography—a peek into the young singer’s private life. As would be proven throughout the rest of the set, this is Sivan: heartbreakingly personal, intimacy set to giant club rhythms.

“This is a theatre show that feels like a club show,” said Sivan, during the first of many chat breaks between songs, “The energy in this room is just bonkers!” And he was right. Every person in the historic room, whether crowded against the barricade or towering up the balconies, was in love, singing every word, dancing with their friends.

Sivan worked his way through tracks from both of his studio albums, whether he was spinning across the stage for “Bloom” or encouraging everyone to put their phone lights up for the intimate “Heaven.” Often, Sivan would stop to divulge some intimate detail, whether the background of a track about his own coming out experience or that his pants had just been altered and so he might have to dance while holding them up. These moments brought the crowd in even more, creating a connection and openness.

During “Fools,” Sivan walked down some steps at center stage to embrace fans and sing with them, and then he took things down a notch for the piano-driven ballad “Postcard” and a few more quiet tracks sung from atop a high platform. Throughout the show, his band and backup singers were nicely highlighted as well. And then he admitted on “Ease” that he might forget some lyrics for lack of playing it in so long.

Forgiveness wasn’t necessary, however, as the crowd provided plenty of lyrical assistance and Sivan rounded out his set with the party-ready “Dance to This” and a two-track encore of hits “Youth” and “My My My” for his adoring fans.

Review and photos by Stephanie Dore

Troye Sivan