September 12, 200618 yr Author DIVA CAREY STILL LEARNING HOW TO PUT ON A SHOW As befitting an often over-the-top pop diva, Mariah Carey's show Thursday night at the Verizon Center was a sparkly, narcissistic affair. The set was definitely expensive - and impressive. Over the two-tier stage stood a giant, ivory "M" flashing shades of red and blue. There was a grand staircase to the left, a huge neon, block-lettered sign that spelled out the singer's nickname: Mimi. Even Carey's mike stand glittered. And such a spectacle wouldn't be complete without a troupe of limber, gyrating dancers. (Carey had six in all.) Her seven-piece band, which included the famed DJ Clue, was tight and high-powered. So with all of these superstar stage trappings, a multiplatinum career spanning 16 years and a behind-the-scenes reputation for being a demanding businesswoman, why did Carey come off as a diva with training wheels for most of the show? She seemed so tentative, breezing through several of her songs and disappearing backstage for long stretches to change costumes. (She did this five times.) Well, we have to cut her a little slack. Although Carey has garnered envious commercial success since the start of her career in 1990 (she has scored 17 No. 1 hits, the most of any female pop performer), the New York-born singer-songwriter has never really gotten around to establishing herself as a concert draw. And her current world tour, The Adventures of Mimi, feels belated. It's in support of her latest album, the calculated but memorable The Emancipation of Mimi, which sold more than 6 million copies and was the biggest-selling CD of last year. Granted, she currently has a No. 1 hit on R&B radio, the gospel-touched "Fly Like a Bird". But it still feels as if the gaudy, wailing songstress has lost some momentum. All of that doesn't really matter, though. Carey is out there working hard to ingratiate herself with her fans, even if it seems the world-renowned pop veteran is still learning to put on a show. The concert's first half was dominated by the hip-hop flavor she has been blending into her substance-free pop formula for nearly a decade. Wearing what looked like a shimmering black bra and panties set with a sheer duster and spike heels, Carey opened with "It's Like That", the Jermaine Dupri-produced club burner from her latest album. During the performance, the singer preened and pranced around and did a few very simple dance moves. (She may have an amazing vocal instrument, but Carey certainly wasn't blessed with rhythm.) That segued into one of her most hip-hopped songs, 1999's "Heartbreaker", during which the 'hood-rat female rapper Da Brat made one of two dismissible cameos. Carey mentioned several times between songs that the two were the best of friends. She also graciously shared the spotlight with another pal, the lame R&B vocalist and longtime Carey collaborator Trey Lorenz. The two gushingly revisited their 1992 remake of the Jackson 5's ever charming "I'll Be There". Afterward, Carey disappeared while Lorenz did a mini-set of Luther Vandross classics ("Never Too Much" and "A House is Not a Home") and an overwrought take of Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". With fun mixes of old-school R&B and hip-hop cuts with a little reggae and go-go thrown in, DJ Clue kept the near-capacity crowd up and dancing during Carey's long costume changes. For the second half of the nearly 90-minute show, she settled into her early schmaltzy pop diva image, replete with flowing, tight-fitting (and unflattering) gowns. This was the segment where Carey could have worked even more of her "vocal magic" because the distracting troupe of dancers was gone. Instead, she opted for an anti-climactic medley of such wail-fest ballads as "Can't Let Go" and "One Sweet Day". She did, however, give full treatment to one of her more touching self-penned tunes, "Hero". Then Carey predictably ended with the dramatic ballad "We Belong Together", last year's biggest pop single. Her exit was quick as a shower of purple metallic confetti fell on the house. (The Baltimore Sun)
September 12, 200618 yr Author MARIAH'S ENTRANCES Mariah Carey is not the most kinetic of live performers. The pop diva with the glass-shattering voice doesn't really dance, and she doesn't race around the stage - preferring to take dainty, deliberate steps in her designer stilettos. And who can blame her? It can't be easy keeping your balance on heels so high that they look like knitting needles. Mostly, then, the movement is limited to Carey's vocal acrobatics - and there were plenty during her concert at Verizon Center on Thursday. Though she's been showing off a more breathy style in recent years, Carey still has a propensity for taking off on runs that sound like a boiling teakettle with perfect pitch. "Dreamlover" even opened with Carey playing the role of wailing soul, as she unleashed a series of piercing, whistle-register notes before swooping back down to alto- and soprano-range normalcy. (The song also had her playing another role, for which she wore spangly black undies and a matching bra, a chiffon boudoir robe scarcely covering her back. Later adding sunglasses to the outfit, she resembled an incognito Frederick's of Hollywood model.) Still, Carey somehow managed to cover quite a bit of ground during the show. Of course, most of it was the ground leading backstage, but who's counting? Oh, right: Us! Carey exited stage right a half-dozen times during her 90-minute concert, sometimes for just a minute or two but also for lengthier periods that usually signaled a costume change. (Total outfit count: five.) Some of the breaks dragged on long enough for a deejay to spin parts of at least two dozen hit rap and R&B records as a hype man barked about taking it back (Bell Biv Devoe's "Poison"), waaaaay back (Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' "). The frequent strolls backstage repeatedly derailed the concert's momentum, which was a shame since Carey was in such fine voice; no longer an emotionless vocal technician, she even sounded like a credibly gritty soul singer during an inspired reading of her first hit, 1990's "Vision of Love". Ultimately, though, the walk-offs did her in: When Carey left the stage, yet again, after a powerhouse performance of her soaring (if saccharine) ballad "Hero", the crowd cheered briefly, then turned nearly silent - not realizing that it was time to call Carey back for an encore. It took flashing stage lights to prompt the audience, and eventually Carey returned to sing "We Belong Together", the biggest hit from her enormously successful comeback CD, "The Emancipation of Mimi". One of the best-selling titles of 2005, the album reestablished Carey, 36, as a bona fide hitmaker after a series of artistic misfires and a very public meltdown. Thus, this is very much a triumphal tour. The show opens with a video of Carey saying that if whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, then, well, gosh, she's really strong - apparently to the point that she can even turn references to her failures into symbolic celebrations. The concert here closed with two confetti guns spraying the crowd with... glitter! "Glitter", of course, being the title of Carey's semi-autobiographical movie and an accompanying album, both of which were tremendous, potentially career-killing flops. Carey didn't exactly gloat about her return to A-list status, however, and she never fully indulged her inner diva. Not even when the stage lights came back up prematurely between songs while the star was dabbing her glistening face with a tissue. "You caught me," she said with a giggle. If anything, Carey seemed charmingly awkward, coming across as a regular gal blessed with an exceptional voice. She may have 17 No. 1 singles, but she's still just Mariah from the block. Or, as it were: Mimi from the block, as she performed 2005's "Shake It Off" in front of Broadway lights that spelled out her alter ego's name. The song married a pop vocal to a hip-hop beat - a formula Carey first started using more than a decade ago on hits including "Fantasy". She performed that tune here as a virtual duet with the late rapper Ol' Dirty bast*rd, who rather creepily delivered his vocal from the grave. Several living rappers also appeared via canned studio tracks, including Jay-Z on "Heartbreaker," as Carey loaded the set with hip-hop-infused material. But she didn't exactly ignore the ballads and, in fact, the highlight of the show was a fiery cover of "I'll Be There", the Jackson 5 tune that Carey originally recorded 14 years ago during a live MTV special. The song was performed as a duet with one of Carey's backup singers, Trey Lorenz, who spent most of the show seated on a stool at the back of the split-level stage. He couldn't sit still for the entire show, however: Lorenz disappeared backstage before the song, precisely so that he might make a dramatic entrance moments later. Mariah's kind of move, without the high heels. (The Washington Post)
September 12, 200618 yr Author CAREY: MIMI OR ME-ME? Discussing Mariah Carey can be as divisive as talking politics or football; before entering the fray, you need a steadfast stance, hard supporting evidence and, in the end, a willingness to drop the issue, unresolved. Take her Thursday night performance at Verizon Center, for example, after which the streets echoed with mini-arguments: Which one of her ballads was the most heartfelt? Was the singer too chunky to be wearing glorified lingerie? Does she put on a better show than Beyonce? But after seeing her live, there is one thing everyone can agree on: Even 16 years into her career, she's got a voice like a Ferrari. When she wants to take you for a ride, she kicks it into gear and floors it until your ears feel like they're going to pop. Miss Carey's stop in the District was part of her current Adventures of Mimi tour, which follows the mega-success of her 2005 album, "The Emancipation of Mimi". More resurrection than emancipation, the disc marks the pop queen's return to rule after an all-too-public coup d'etat. For the tunes she sang and co-wrote on "Mimi", Miss Carey secured three Grammys and a mountain of other accolades. The disc became the best-selling album of 2005, proving that the diva still knows how to dominate charts and dance floors alike. At Verizon, the songstress showed Washingtonians just how well her fresh tracks fit into her oeuvre. She mixed recent chart-toppers like the booty-shaking "It's Like That" and slow jam "Don't Forget About Us" with perennials like the upbeat "Fantasy" and tear-jerking "Hero". (The Jumbotron showed people crying. Seriously.) Despite the rumors that have plagued the singer throughout her reign that her voice is going, she proved otherwise, managing equal parts belt and croon. That's not to say she didn't hit a few flats, drop a few notes, or de-emphasize some parts you wanted her to nail; it's just that her machine is so impressive this hardly matters. What is harder to overlook is the ego fueling this drive train. Lest anyone forget her initials during the concert, the stage was framed by a behemoth M-shape, its middle pointing below to center stage, where a 5-foot-tall silver "MC" emblem rested. Later, an illuminated MIMI sign - so bright the star put on shades - dropped from the ceiling. Miss Carey's costume choices also displayed her, uh, confidence. She first appeared in a glittery black bikini thing "covered" by a matching dressing gown, and subsequent peek-a-boo dresses didn't conceal much more. While she changed outfits some four times, the impromptu talent showcases for her DJ, back-up singers and dancers reeked of mediocrity (no offense, DJ Clue, Trey Lorenz and Da Brat) - perhaps purposely so that no one would upstage the diva. But most caustic was Miss Carey's insincere banter. She repeatedly queried, "Do you know this one?" and dropped her album titles as if everyone in the audience hadn't listened to each five thousand times. During "Hero", the artist grasped a bouquet of sunflowers an audience member had passed toward the stage. "I'm gonna put these right here," she told the fan as she scuffled her stilettos stage right, chucking the flowers onto the ground without stooping down even an inch. "Thank you, baby," she said, batting her false eyelashes. So she's a little high-maintenance, maybe a little temperamental; just because the clutch sticks doesn't mean those moments of sheer unadulterated power felt in, say, her classic "Vision of Love" are any less breathtaking. Coupled with opener Sean Paul's boisterous dance-hall set, brought to life by bootylicious dancers who taught everyone how to wind and clap (and I'm not talking hands here), the evening provided many opportunities for dancing, singing-along, and future debates among friends. (The Washington Times)
September 16, 200618 yr Author I know how long HAS it been since we had a DVD? :( Around The World - seven years ago?
September 16, 200618 yr Around The World - seven years ago? GAH. Didn't realise it was that long. I'm not sure whether I prefer the MSG DVD or the ATW DVD. :unsure:
September 16, 200618 yr If Island don't release this one I'm gonna go ****ing mad :arrr: sorry for the swearing :lol:
September 17, 200618 yr Author GAH. Didn't realise it was that long. I'm not sure whether I prefer the MSG DVD or the ATW DVD. :unsure: I own neither. Bad fan.
September 18, 200618 yr Author Tim you must get them they aren't expensive :arrr: I never watched music DVDs though. I wouldn't be buying them to bring me joy and Maz is rich enough as it is. Maybe I will when I graduate and get a job
September 26, 200618 yr Author BLOATED MARIAH SHOW NEEDED MORE MUSIC When she finally hit the stage, close to an hour after her opening act had left it, 36-year-old Mariah Carey came out in revealing black lingerie to her hip-hop single It's Like That, and you couldn't help but wonder why she was trying so hard to be young and sexy when her audience is so, well, middle-aged and female. And while we're griping, when did the word "diva" become a good thing? When did we collectively decide to pay this much respect (and hard earned money) to an entitled princess with one talent? Why did 12,000 dedicated fans wait an hour for Mariah? Don't get me wrong. Carey - who composes her own material, has a five-octave voice and had a No. 1 single in every year of the '90s - deserves to be a star. I respect her talent and like her on CD. But her live show is a lesson in excess, a calvacade of smoke and mirrors meant to distract from her tiny presence on a grand stage, a five-course place setting for gazpacho. Any momentum she wrung from her pipes was constantly disrupted by unnecessary costume changes, and instead of more material, we were treated to silhouetted dance routines and snippets of '80s pop from DJ Clue. And those pipes, which sound as honeyed as her skin on record, sounded fairly average here, nothing you wouldn't hear on American Idol. When she tried vocal gymnastics to hit those high shrieks, they sounded like wet fingerprints on clean glass, a mosquito stuck in a belljar. Carey did have some decent versions of A Vision Of Love, Fly Like A Bird and Fantasy, and because she came out late, I couldn't see or hear, but know that she also performed Hero, Make It Happen and We Belong Together. But mostly The Adventures of Mimi: The Voice, The Hits, The Tour was as bloated as the title and is in need of a few tweaks to become a much better show. Divas, please. How about you ladies all stay in that one costume you started the concert in and maybe sing us a couple of extra songs instead? No one's going, "Well, for $109.50, I better see her in five different looks" (or maybe you are, in which case, stop ruining it for fans of music). Opener Busta Rhymes was his usual killer self, treating the audience to his mile-a-minute gruff rhymes on tracks such as Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Can See, Break Ya Neck, Fire It Up and Pass The Courvasier. The fact that he managed to squeeze out a standing ovation from an audience of mostly unfamiliar Mariah Carey fans is a testament to the Brooklyn rapper's talent. (The Calgary Herald)
September 26, 200618 yr Author Support act has changed from Sean-A Paul to Bus-A-Bus it would seem. She loves her hyphenated stars!
September 26, 200618 yr :rofl:! Aw what a stupid review, oh well, she can't please everyone I suppose :(
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