HOUSTON, Texas — Gloria is a savagely joyous, elegant, sexually charged production, infused,
sonically, with R&B, baroque choral music, and mountains of soul. But it’s not absurdist. Every
costume and lighting decision is thoughtful and every song is placed just so. In September
8th’s Toyota Center show, the tour’s U.S. closer, Sakeema, a model, multimedia artist and
LGBTQ+ activist from London, began the show by dramatically unveiling a fallen golden statue
spanning the entire stage. Moments later a matrix of white lights illuminated the operatic set
and the band emerged from behind the statue. Sam Smith, in a bejeweled sailor hat and ornate
corset, climbed atop the curved hip of the statue and removed their hat. The familiar opening
chords of ‘Stay With Me’ rang out and the crowd, Smith’s de facto chorus, sang back every
phrase.
There was an observable and unusual, even for Smith, triumph in the singer’s eyes. Throughout
the night they were quick to smile and wave at each photographer and front-row supporter—
even picking concertgoers in the side stands and nosebleeds to sing to; and the interactions
felt so honest. Perhaps their contagious joy that night was related to their success in a
copyright lawsuit announced just a day earlier. Or maybe it was the heartbeat of Gloria’s core
message at work. Whatever the cause, it made for a memorable night full of optimism, joy, and
majestic visual spectacle.
The tour’s opener, Colombian-Canadian singer-songwriter extraordinaire Jessie Reyez, gave
early bird attendees a treat with her stripped down, soulful stylings before the main act took to
the stage. She was, for some of the younger concertgoers, the reason they decided to come at
all. Her newest single, ‘JEANS’, had many fans singing along, despite its relatively new release.
After ‘Stay with Me’, Smith continued through hits from their debut album In the Lonely Hour,
‘I’m Not the Only One’ and ‘Like I Can’ before moving through a dynamic and commanding
repertoire, including a cover of Madonna’s ‘Human Nature’. Interestingly, very few songs from
the tour’s namesake, the album Gloria, were performed. In fact, it wasn’t until the eleventh
song when fans heard their first offering from the singer’s newest album, ‘I’m Not Here to Make
Friends’.
The show’s finale, Smith’s own gay cabaret (their words), was, of course, ‘Unholy’. The gender
bending pop star traipsed across the stage in fishnets, a (different) corset, and thigh-high
leather boots with red ribbons. During Kim Petras’s verse, Smith changed into a three-horned
top hat, jacket, and devil trident to finish the song with their dancers. The resulting arc of the
production’s mythos, and I say with utmost acclamation, was something perfectly placed
between a Verdi opera and a red-light district gay strip club.
If you had told me, in January, that I’d be considering Sam Smith’s Gloria the Tour show to take
the crown of best concert of the year, I might think you’d lost it. The costumes, set, and subject
matter of some of the songs made for what could easily have been a clichéd, cringey few
hours—but they weren’t. The show was a theatrical voyage through Smith’s skilled musical
styles, through their relationships, lessons, and love lost. And it was a pilgrimage to their
eventual love found.
The tour will continue through Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, The Philippines,
Singapore, and Australia before finishing in New Zealand in November.
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