The first and last time I saw the Chainsmokers was back in 2016 when they closed out Voodoo Music + Arts Experience at the Le Plur stage. Fast forward, three years, a Las Vegas residency, and two of tours later, the EDM/pop duo returned back to New Orleans with their World War Joy Tour.
Over the course of a one and a half-hour set, the electro-pop dynamic duo, Drew Taggart and Alex Pall, better known as the Chainsmokers were by drummer Matt McGuire, openers 5 Seconds of Summer and Lennon Stella, a couple of motorcyclists, and a fan from the crowd.
Opening the Night with Lennon & 5SOS
The night started off with pop artist, Lennon Stella. She hit the stage performing songs a handful of tracks including “Bad” and “La Di Da”. After Lennon’s set, the popular boy band, 5 Seconds of Summer (5SOS) hit the stage. From the hour-long set to the loud screams from adoring fangirls, you would think The World War Joy Tour was a joint tour with two headliners instead of one. I even spoke with a group of fans in between sets who were standing against the barricade. I asked who they were here to see and they told me the main reason they came was to see 5SOS live.
4 Stand-Out Moments of the Show
If you’ve been to a Chainsmokers or really any EDM show, there are some stereotypical things you expect to happen including steam blasts, flares, lots of bass, “1, 2, 1, 2, 3” countdowns before beat drops, and remixes to popular songs so here are some stand out moments throughout the night that made the Chainsmokers different.
Floating over the crowd. A few times throughout the night, Taggart, climbed up above the crowd. During “Everybody Hates Me,” he was on a beam that floated over the fans sitting on the floor.
The Globe of Death. The metal sphere that dangled above the stage during the show seemed to just be a prop at first that represents the world since the name of the tour is World War Joy. But during “Sick Boy,” Taggart jumped inside as he sang the title track of their second studio album. Later on, In between “Something Just Like This” and “Somebody,” a couple of motorcyclists sped around the inside of the large metal ball as two women stood inside similar to the scene in “The Place Beyond the Pin” starring Ryan Gosling.
Bringing their openers back out. During the beginning of their set, the Chainsmokers brought out Lennon Stella to perform their recent single, “Takeaway.” Later on, 5 Seconds of Summer joined the Chainsmokers on stage to perform platinum hit single, “Who Do You Love.”
The local fan they brought on stage. “I want to pull someone out of the crowd,” Taggart said as he walked down the catwalk. He scoped out the people in the GA pit before pointing to a boy, “You’re probably the youngest person in the crowd. Show us what you got New Orleans.” The 11-year old who introduced himself as Cullen from Thibodeaux joined them on stage. Pell dropped a beat and Cullen wasn’t shy to bust a few moves in front of the Chainsmokers or the crowd of 8,000 people cheering him on. He flossed, hit the focus, flipped and hit a whole split.
My Review of the World War Joy Tour
It’s evident that Chainsmokers aren’t your typical EDM artists...anymore. They started as a couple of DJs but after attending the World War Joy Tour, it was almost more so a band with Matt on the drums and Drew occasionally playing the guitar. The production, though it helped to match the energy of their show, also helped to keep that feeling of being at a rave alive.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the ending. The group ended off their set with none other than their 2016 Diamond certified, Grammy-nominated and Billboard chart-topping hit, “Closer” yet it felt completely rushed through. You would think the ending would have tons of steam blasts, flares, and other production but it was kind of dry compared to the rest of the show besides the little bit of confetti that flew out at the end.
Despite the abrupt ending, the Chainsmokers put on an entertaining show — from the graphics on the screen to the floating globe to the endless pyro and of course, the incorporation of live instruments and vocals. If you missed the Chainsmokers' stop in New Orleans or just want to re-live the night, you can watch clips of their performance on my Chainsmokers Instagram highlight and view the photo slideshow below.
