Madison Beer wows Long Island crowd in hometown debut

Madison Beer was greeted with a roar from the crowd at the sold-out Paramount in Huntington.

“Long Island, what’s good?” the Jericho native screamed, after leading the crowd in a sing-along of her single “Say It to My Face.” “I’ve waited so long to say that.”

Though Beer has had a record deal since Justin Bieber discovered her singing “At Last” on YouTube in 2012, her Paramount show Saturday night was her first headlining appearance on Long Island. The 19-year-old proved how right she was to wait.

Beer has always had a big voice, even as a tween. But now she has something to say.

Her 45-minute set was polished from the opening leg of her tour in Europe. Her three-piece band was on point as are the often-arresting visuals that go with her songs. The heart of it, though, was her connection with her fans and that was clearly forged long ago through repeated listenings of her “As She Pleases” debut and following her on social media.

When most new artists do cover songs in their set, it’s a way to offer fans another familiar moment to keep up momentum. When Beer does a pretty, poppier version of Radiohead’s “Creep” though, the reaction pales in comparison to the intense screaming-along to “Tyler Durden,” which flows into a poignant bit of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind.”

Beer clearly serves as the voice for her generation of teenage girls, who formed the overwhelming bulk of the crowd at The Paramount. They related to her swooning, but wary, “Teenager in Love.” And they all knew the punchline of the encore “Dead,” some raising their fists along with Beer as they screamed, “You say you can’t live without me. So why aren’t you dead yet? Why you still breathing?”

Beer often seemed touched by the reaction of her fellow Long Island teens. When she said in a taped piece, “Long Island will always be my home,” the roar was so loud and went on so long, Beer appeared to wipe a tear away before moving on with the show. Maybe it took Beer’s return home to realize that she has finally arrived.

SETLIST: Fools / Say It To My Face / Something Sweet / All for Love / Jealous / Creep / Tyler Durden / Where Is My Mind / Teenager in Love / HeartLess / Home With You // ENCORE: Dead