Montreal matched Tinashe’s freak as she brought her biggest solo tour to MTELUS on Nov. 10.
After scoring her first major hit in years with “Nasty,” Tinashe found herself back in the limelight this year and embarked on her biggest tour yet: the Match My Freak Tour. The trek stopped at MTELUS in Montreal on Nov. 10, treating fans to a display of the artist’s multifaceted talent as a singer and dancer.
Excited cheers filled the room from the moment the lights first cut out as visuals of Tinashe strobed onscreen. The singer appeared donning a brown trench coat and a set of futuristic, wraparound sunglasses, kicking off the show with her recent single “Getting No Sleep.”
She joined her dancers midway through the song, performing elaborate choreography alongside them.
She danced throughout the concert whenever her mic was not being used, showcasing her talent as a singer and dancer. Her smooth navigation between both was commendable, and her vocals never missed a beat.
The simplistic stage design consisted of a small platform with decorative CCTV camera poles on each end and three LED screens for visuals. This made Tinashe and her crew the centre of attention, and they successfully used the entire stage, dominating with their strong choreography and presence.
“Tinashe’s stage presence was unreal. Her dancing had me fully hypnotized, like I couldn’t take my eyes off her if I tried,” said Fiza Mainuddin, a third-year business technology major at Concordia who attended the show.
The setlist encompassed her latest album, Quantum Baby, her independently released albums (BB/ANG3L, 333, Songs For You), and her hits from nearly a decade ago.
She offered up all sorts of energy, from rap-centric bangers (“Link Up”) to dancier cuts (“The Worst in Me”) to softer, intimate ballads (“Red Flags”). This allowed the crowd to experience slower, sensual moments but also to dance and groove.
Parts of the choreography saw the singer getting up close and intimate with her dancers, complementing the themes of love and intimacy on her latest album, Quantum Baby.
Her deep cuts, however, evoked the strongest crowd reactions. The groovy dance-pop track “Save Room For Us” resonated instantly with the audience, who sang along and enthusiastically reacted to her call-and-response bits. Her stunning high notes simply added to the engagement.
Despite the heavy bass on the sound system muddying the production at times, her voice’s soft and beautifully sweet tone prevailed.
The artist created a bond with the crowd, exclaiming that she was “so happy to be here.” The crowd was even incorporated into the performance of “Cross That Line,” when a handheld camera panned to the crowd, displaying them on screen (with visuals that matched the CCTV aesthetic of the set design and Quantum Baby).
Fans were finally treated to “Nasty” as a send-off, closing the night with the entire crowd dancing along to the song and chanting its catchy refrain and iconic “Is somebody going to match my freak?” line.
Tinashe’s show proved that she is exactly where she deserves to be, a testament to her versatility both musically and as a live performer.
