Boston concert at TD Garden

Carpenter may have initially carved out a place for herself in the entertainment industry as a Disney star, but her years on the show “Girl Meets World” were easy to forget as she writhed in a sparkly miniskirt and chunky go-go boots, and a lover to boot seduced: “make (her) Juno,” a reference to the 2007 teen pregnancy film.

Admittedly, it’s not up to the 25-year-old Carpenter to censor herself or hold back for the sake of the enthusiastic children who attend alongside her young adult fans. Her sassy stage presence is what got her into this position in the first place, after her bold, improvised outros for her smash hit “Nonsense” sparked overnight viral moments when she added her to the tour in 2022. She’s since broken that tradition, but the same over-the-top sass permeated Carpenter’s Boston performance as a defining feature of her set.

The Pennsylvania-born singer pranced around on her dollhouse-like stage, formatting material from her recent records “Short n’ Sweet” and “emails I Can’t Send” into segments of a fake retro TV show she dubbed “The Short n’ Sweet.” ‘Sweet’ flooded. Sweet Show” with innuendos. But it wasn’t all lewd display. On kiss-offs like “Don’t Smile” and a jazz-tinged rendition of “Feather,” Carpenter’s honeyed vocals pleasantly surpassed her own albums, which often reduce her skills to quiet coos. Elsewhere, her performance reached new depths of vulnerability on tracks like “Sharpest Tool” and “Because I Like a Boy.”

But while her voice and face flawlessly conveyed blushing glances, lustful winks, and raw self-reflection, Carpenter’s other moves on stage failed to resonate, and her physical presence often lacked the dynamism and verve of a truly intentional performance. Whether she was weaving through the choreography or simply strutting down the runway, at TD Garden the enthusiasm of her singing and facial expressions were fully present, while the rest of her body seemed stuck in a muted rehearsal elsewhere.

Even closing song “Espresso” – a perfect opportunity to release the rest of their energy – failed to deliver a hint of staying power, but fans of all ages were still treated to Carpenter’s slightly caffeinated finale. While the chorus of the mega-hit ponders: “Is it so sweet? I think so.”

SABRINA CARPENTER: SHORT AND SWEET TOUR

With Amaarae

At TD Garden, Thursday, October 3rd