Comment on Shawn Mendes is divine for young San Jose crowd

The Vine star-turned-major recording artist offered a tight, accessible, and often pleasingly retro set during the only Bay Area stop on his current tour, and a good argument that his fast rise won’t be accompanied by an equally speedy fall. A follow-up, “Illuminate,” is on the way later this year. But Mendes proved that his charisma and creativity on 6-second Vine video sharing recordings can translate to a 90 minute-plus performance to a capacity crowd. “Something Big” featured a Reggie Watts move, with Mendes recording his own beat-boxing, looping it on the fly as percussion, urging crowd participation with the chorus, and ending with the aforementioned detour into early 2000s rap. [...] while Mendes avoided the between-song pandering melodrama that lesser stars his age use to stoke devotion from tween crowds, his digital video backdrop performed a similar function. At one point, during “A Little Too Much,” Mendes appeared to be singing from inside an apartment of the serial killer from “Se7en,” with lyrics written in tiny letters around fake windows on a fake wall. [...] the visuals never overwhelmed the performance, which seemed to be mostly artist-driven, despite the performer’s quick turn — from sharing videos at his home, to the world of Ticketmaster, opening acts and world tours. The teen star’s biggest hits, “Stitches,” off of “Handwritten,” and “Treat You Better” from the upcoming “Illuminate,” were played with appropriate passion, the former anthem closing the concert with Mendes at a grand piano, and much singing along from the crowd.