Teddy Swims' Phoenix concert delivered great music by a good guy

About halfway through Teddy Swims' Aug. 3 concert at Arizona Financial Theatre, I thought about how his show, unlike many I had seen recently, was refreshingly devoid of pyrotechnics. (An actual quote from my notes: "It's refreshing to see a concert where the excitement is not in stuff blowing up.")

Then the pyrotechnics started.

The jets of fire rising from the back of the stage were, I assume, supposed to add a "wow" factor to the artist's 26-song set. As it turns out, they were wholly unnecessary.

Irish crooner Cian Ducrot opened and set the tone for an evening of introspective songs. Shoutout to the crowd for not bailing on the supporting act; I can't remember the last time I've seen so many butts in seats before the headliner began.
Swims' set began with the band and backup singers silhouetted behind a black curtain. Then, Swims appeared at the top of a ramp, breaking into "Not Your Man" off his most recent album, and we were off.

The 32-year-old Swims, born Jaten Dimsdale, rose to fame in 2019 and 2020 by posting videos on YouTube of himself singing covers by everyone from Marvin Gaye and George Strait to Sara Bareilles and The Weeknd. But he only plays a couple of covers on his current tour, and that's a good thing: His words are far more powerful.

Swims writes and sings about the most personal of topics: addiction, heartbreak, inner healing, fatherhood. And he does it with power, soul and a compelling vulnerability. The audience can't help but be drawn in.

"I want to just instill one single rule for this evening and it's called 'stayin' with it,' OK? Repeat after me: 'I will stay with it,'" he requested early in the show. "What that means is we're checking on our friends, we're makin' sure we're drinking water, you know what I'm saying? ... Just look out for one another."

It was just one clue that Swims may truly be a really good guy. Another one: He signed multiple items for fans throughout the show (while singing, without dropping a note), and even apologized at one point, saying he wanted to make sure the fans in the back were enjoying themselves but promising to get back to signing things shortly.
Swims' band and backup singers were also on the receiving end of his care and attention; early in the show, he declared to the audience, "Thank you for letting me do the best job in the world with my best friends," and spoke several times during his set about how much his fellow musicians mean to him.

But the artist was at his most endearing, his most moving during "Small Hands," a song he wrote for his newborn child, a son he and his girlfriend welcomed in June. Sitting on a darkened stage, crying to lyrics such as "These small hands, they don't care where I come from, where I've been / Oh, I never loved myself until the day I held these small hands," Swims captivated the crowd.

"Small Hands" is obviously a new song, but the majority of the set was pulled from Swims' twin albums, 2023's "I've Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1)" and January's "I've Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 2)." Fans of his hits got what they came for, as he ended strong with a barrage of recognizable radio plays such as "Lose Control" and "The Door."

Phoenix has seen a large number of big stadium shows this year, tours that rolled into town with face-searing pyrotechnics, elaborate stage setups and even a midair ride around the arena on a butterfly. And they were great.

See, I like big shows, the kind with bells, whistles and the occasional fireball. But mostly, I like great music, and Swims' Sunday night show delivered in spades. Though he gave in to the pyrotechnics trend for one song, he didn't need to. He brings the fireworks all on his own.

A few more photos from the show: