Tinashe’s Joyride Tour made a pit stop March 24 at the House of Blues, marking the singer’s first concert in the Big Easy.

The show started with lower expectations for the opener due to a last-minute scheduling change. Originally scheduled was Ryan Hemsworth, an emerging Canadian DJ, but due to an unspecified emergency, he was replaced by DJ Mike Swift, a relatively unknown local.

The set turned out to be a surprise hit. Unlike most DJs/producers who perform these days, DJ Mike Swift used actual turntables and incorporated old school techniques such as scratching. While the venue was at most half-full during the opener, and while the crowd wasn’t providing much energy to the building, Swift managed to create a much more exciting atmosphere using a varied set list and transitioning smoothly between tracks.

By the end of DJ Mike Swift’s set, people were cheering, dancing and murmuring excitedly with an attitude that was ready for Tinashe, demonstrating signs of a successful opening act despite the last-second arrangements.

Tinashe exploded onto the stage from the start of the show. It was a stimulating performance firing on all cylinders with backup dancers, light shows and smoke geysers. The Los Angeles native played a variety of songs ranging across her three albums and numerous hits, including the hits “Player,” “2 On” and “All My Friends.”

Tinashe truly put on a show. In fact, the concert was as much a dance performance as it was a singing one. Her voice was piercingly clear and steady throughout the night despite her constant movement and most of her songs had just as clear a sound, if not better, than the studio-recorded version. The dancing was powerful and smooth, and a portion of the concert was devoted to the backup dancers, who were each given their own introduction and solo routine.

Another element to the concert was the instrumental aspect. While, for the most part, pre-recorded tracks played behind Tinashe’s singing, a keyboardist and drummer added extra accompaniment, which brought more dimensions to the music. The visual effects included lighting and a background screen that showed a range of visuals, from music videos of the songs Tinashe performed, to lyrics for the audience to sing along to.

Tinashe’s concert was a complete success, with an emphasis on complete. With her talented vocals, a live instruments behind her, skilled dancers, proper mood lighting and other audio-visual help, Tinashe brought a Super Bowl-worthy halftime show to the intimate walls of the House of Blues.