Halsey kicked off her spellbinding For My Last Trick Tour Saturday night (5/10) in Concord, California, conjuring the first act of her 32-city journey around North America in support of her latest LP, The Great Impersonator.
The tour is a celebration of sorts of the pop star’s return to the stage following recent health battles which triggered a brief hiatus from live performances.
The night unfolded across a series of themed segments, including one titled “Alice Falls Down the Rabbit Hole,” blending theatrical interludes with new tunes and fan faves.
Attendees of the sold out Toyota Pavilion (formerly the Concord Pavilion) were blessed with an immersive performance with elaborate visuals, costume changes and projected scenes that supported the trippy tone of Halsey’s 2024 album.
The singer, originally from Jersey, will also be stoking audiences with a rotating “surprise song” segment in every set to guarantee each gig is special.
The surprise song on Saturday was "Drive" from 2015's Badlands - an album that was represented with four of the 23 tracks in her set.
She hadn't played "Drive" since 2019 in Brazil where she did it to oblige an audience request. Fans loved hearing it again and seeing visuals from the cover art behind her.
Nearly 40% of the material was from The Great Impersonator, as you could imagine.
Four of the nine songs she performed were live debuts from the 2024 gem: "Alice of the Upper Class," "Arsonist," "Darwinism," and the Britney Spears-interpolation "Lucky."
Last fall while rolling out the album, Halsey introduced each song from the record and the artist who inspired it who she was "impersonating."
Writing a caption alongside of Halsey with PJ Harvey-style thick blue-green eye shadow and an American flag bikini top, she told her 30 million IG followers the British singer was her muse for "Dog Years."
Halsey wrote it is, "one of my absolute favorite songs on the album, inspired by one of the most influential artists of my lifetime."
In Concord Halsey increased the intensity of the tune with knee-hi boots, a leather bikini and a dog collar and chain.
Her fans, some of whom have been making edits to the Nicole Kidman film Babydoll while using "Dog Years" for the audio, ate it up.
At the end of the first act, while in a far more wholesome costume, Halsey altered the lyrics of "Only Living Girl in LA" slightly to give the ticketholders something more to scream over:
It's the first show of the tour tonight in Concord
but they will always show for me
I didn't sleep last night cause I was way too nervous
but you guys sold out every seat
On Wednesday Halsey plays the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Unlike at her show in Concord that had support from Del Water Gap and The Warning, the lucky ducks of LA will have Evanescence... and The Warning as openers.
Surely one of the highlights of that gig will be when Amy Lee and Halsey live debut "Hand That Feeds," their recently released duet from the forthcoming film Ballerina. Due in June, the film stars Ana de Armas as an assassin, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne, and Keanu Reeves, because it's a spinoff taking place between the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 and Chapter 4.
Speaking of dogs, would anyone object if Keanu's band Dogstar made a surprise appearance on that bill at The Bowl?
More importantly will Ana be in the crowd? The inspiration for Halsey's "Dog Years" was Marilyn Monroe and de Armas became the first Cuban nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her 2022 portrayal of the bombshell in the film Blonde.
Get your tickets on Halsey's website, while they last.
For My Last Trick: The Tour, remaining dates
May 14 – Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
May 17 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
May 18 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Grand Theater
May 19 – Rogers, AR – Walmart AMP
May 21 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
May 22 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
May 24 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
May 25 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live
May 28 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
May 29 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
May 31 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live
June 1 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
June 3 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
June 4 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheater
June 6 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
June 7 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
June 8 – Uncasville, CT – Mohegan Sun Arena
June 10 – Toronto, ON – Budweiser Stage
June 11 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
June 13 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
June 14 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake
June 17 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
June 18 – St. Louis, MO – Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
June 20 – Somerset, WI – Somerset Amphitheater
June 22 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre
June 24 – West Valley City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 26 – Ridgefield, WA – Cascades Amphitheater
June 28 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre
July 5 – Lincoln, CA – The Venue at Thunder Valley Casino Resort
July 6 – Highland, CA – Yaamava' Theater
