Video: Carly Rae Jepsen Plays 'Cut To The Feeling' Live For The First Time At A Secret Chicago Show

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 12, 2017 4:55PM

Carly Rae Jepsen at Chop Shop, (Alyssa Schukar/Associated Press)

Carly Rae Jepsen played an atypically intimate show at Wicker Park's Chop Shop on Tuesday night as part of the M&Ms Spotlight Concert series. Unlike most corporate tie-in shows, this one ended up being a full concert from the Canadian master of feel-good pop. Even better, it heralded the live debut of her latest unstoppable summer earworm, 
"Cut to the Feeling" (more on that in a moment).

And it was definitely a feel-good show. Lyrically, Jepsen traffics in the seas of love, desire, and general relationship issues, but she does so with a wink that provides just the right amount of sparkle to the universal themes.

The stage for Jepsen and her four-piece band managed to cram what felt like an arena-sized lighting rig into a room that held just a couple hundred people. But even the lighting ended up being tasteful, ultimately accenting the action instead of dominating the stage design.

Over 15 songs, Jepsen pulled heavily from 2015's E·MO·TION
—still one of our favorite releases of that year—dancing all over the stage in a casual outfit, clearly giddy at the crowd response—even though she obviously held all the cards.

Jepsen kept the pace varied, but always fluid, meaning a slow, sensual burn like "Warm Blood" was given room to breathe, but still felt completely at home rubbing shoulders with a deep banger like "I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance
" (the song Katy Perry wishes "Swish Swish" had been, let's face it).

But the evening was particularly notable because it marked the first time Jepsen has performed "
Cut to the Feeling"—a song we would argue is in the running for summer Song of 2017™—which felt like a real treat for the wall-to-wall Chicago crowd.

If you want to get a clearer idea of how it felt in the middle of the crowd as it exploded around the summer jam's debut, this offers a fun vantage point.

After slaying the crowd and closing out her setlist with the massive punch of "Call Me Maybe" into "I Really Like You,
" it appeared the evening might be over. But Jepsen was coaxed back onstage, though it was clear she hadn't really expected to play another song since she appears to eschew the whole encore thing. She told the crowd that she and the band had quickly settled on one they would try out, despite being unprepared, before kicking out her 2012 hit duet with Owl City, "Good Time." The song is even better as a solo Jepsen jam, and encapsulated the vibe of the night. It was indeed a good time.

Full setlist for Carly Rae Jepsen at Chop Shop, July 11, 2017

Run Away With Me

Making the Most of the Night

Gimmie Love

E·MO·TION

Warm Blood

Boy Problems

Favourite Colour

Cut to the Feeling
I Didn't Just Come Here to Dance

Your Type

When I Needed You

All That

Let's Get Lost

Call Me Maybe

I Really Like You


Encore:
Good Time