Olivia Dean transformed the Uber Arena Berlin into a place full of happiness and confetti – an evening that will resonate for a long time.
May 12th is a rainy day in Berlin. It’s grey, cold and wet everywhere – no sign of spring fever. With one exception in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg: Here in the Uber Arena, Olivia Dean fills a sold-out hall with happiness, euphoria and love on this rainy evening. The English neo-soul singer is no longer a fringe phenomenon. Ever since the mega success of her single “Man I Need”, she has become an integral part of the radio and people’s minds.
Olivia Dean was originally supposed to play in a smaller location. The fact that this was a huge misjudgment was confirmed the moment masses of mostly young women streamed into the now larger venue. Dressed in polka dot outfits, they fill the entire Uber Arena with warm feelings even before the show begins.
A fairytale appearance in the middle of Berlin
The stage is wrapped in a strikingly elegant, bright curtain, onto which the words THE ART OF LOVING – the title of their current album – are projected in large size. When the first notes of the LP’s intro of the same name finally sound and the Brit’s silhouette can already be seen, a show begins that I won’t soon forget.
With the track “Nice to Each Other”, Olivia Dean starts her show in Berlin with a mega hit that gets the entire Uber Arena dancing from one moment to the next. The singer herself also jumps and dances back and forth on stage, and it doesn’t take long until it becomes clear: This woman is living her passion. She takes the stage with grace, elegance and at the same time incredibly strong character and impresses with a stage presence that captivates me – and apparently all the other fans too.
A show with clear rules
A little later, Olivia Dean shares important information with the crowd because she has a rule that we have to adhere to: “There’s only one rule: To enjoy yourself and sing, dance or cry if you feel like it.” A request that I, for my part, have to comply with several times this evening.
With “So Easy (To Fall in Love),” the Brit performs an ode to self-love. She sings about how easy it is to fall in love with her – which she turns out to be right. She and her live band bring the light and happy sounds of the song effortlessly onto the stage, with the virtuosos on the wind instruments particularly contributing to this concert experience. After a haunting monologue about love and what it means, the track “Let Alone the One You Love” is on the program before she devotes herself to a selection of her older songs.
Charm personified in the form of Olivia Dean
Heartwarming performances of the songs “UFO,” “Touching Toes” and “I’ve Seen It” follow, with Olivia Dean and two of her band members sitting on stools at the edge of the stage with a spotlight trained on them. With “Carmen”, a song about her grandmother, the charming singer first lightens the mood again before making her way to a B stage among the concert goers.
Meanwhile, the final notes of “Time” sound on the main stage before she performs one of her most emotional songs, “Loud,” on the second stage, which could easily work as a song for a James Bond film. At this point at the latest, there won’t be a dry eye in the Uber Arena in Berlin. A few moments later she snakes her way through the crowd back onto the big stage while breathing “The Hardest Part” into the microphone.
Berlin travels back to the 70s
It’s no longer a secret that Olivia Dean can not only do pop, but also soul and funk. She showcases this diversity with the performance of “Ladies Room”, a song from her debut album MESSY. While the brass section once again enthralls the entire hall, Dean jumps back and forth carefree in her gold, glittery dress. With a cover of “Move On Up” by Curtis Mayfield, she and her fans take a journey back in time to the 70s, before continuing, perfectly timed, with the next track “OK Love You Bye”. Her presence continues to be characterized by grace, elegance, lightness, joy of life and love, which make me forget not only the gray weather but also everything else for the duration of the show.
The crowning conclusion is – how could it be otherwise – the song “Man I Need”, which gets everyone’s legs and vocal cords swinging one last time. For a not-so-brief moment, I hope this evening would never end. This wish is denied to me, because when Olivia Dean sings the chorus of the hit one last time and confetti cannons blow pink pieces of paper into the crowd, the singer’s 105-minute show comes to an end. What remains is my full heart, happy fans and a very special concert that will probably not only be remembered by me for a long time.
