Review: Angels Advocate Tour (Las Vegas)
Posted on 03-06-2010 15:14 GMT+8 by Ken
Mariah has obviously saved the best for last.
Anyone present during the last show of this superdiva's "Angels Advocate Tour" at the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas (February 27) would agree that it was arguably the finest in the 8-week north American tour which kicked off in New York in early January.
All the element that makes a Mariah show fantabulously great was on point: Golden voice? Check. Glamorous ensemble? In the bag. Excessive diva behavior? In full display. Sold-out crowd? Screaming for more. Festive lambs? All dolled up for the night.
Fans started arriving as early as 6pm in the venue, even though the concert was billed to start at 9pm (and they all know Mariah would be fabulously late). True to form, the opening act, RydazNArtist, didn't start performing until it was 9pm. Then it was back to waiting.
The audience counted the minutes patiently at first, listening to Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Boyz II Men. An hour later at 10:10pm when Mariah still has not showed up, the crowd went restless and started booing--they really did want to hear Mariah badly.
As expected, the more than 4,000-strong crowd went wild when the angelic superstar finally did come down from the heavens--quite literally, as she was lowered down from the top wearing a ruffled golden gown that later transformed into a skin-tight, barely-there ensemble (but it's Mariah, do we expect anything less, or rather more fabric?).
Hardcore fans who have been following the tour through bootleg recordings over at YouTube didn't get any surprises when Mariah did her usual setlist beginning with "Daydream Interlude," "Shake it off" and "Touch my body."
Knowing, however, that there was a wide demographic of people in the audience (from grandma and grandpa to 4-year-old children), Mariah quickly served back-to-back ballads with "Don't forget about us" and "Fly like a bird"--both from the megamillion selling "The Emancipation of Mimi."
But since this tour was launched in support of her latest studio effort, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," Mariah, of course, performed several tracks from the album including the smash hit "Obsessed" and the love-making track "The Impossible."
Mariah also did "Angels cry" and "Up out my face," both of which appear in remixed form on the upcoming remix album "Angels Advocate," in which the tour was named after. In past shows, Mariah also performed "It's a wrap," "H.A.T.E.U.," "I want to know what love is" and "100%"--the first three included in "Memoirs" while the last rumored to be a bonus track in the remix album.
What's surprising with this show in this tour is that Mariah made more adlibs, cooing and hitting difficult notes without hesitation--enough to make the most skeptic critics to eat their words. Mariah even did several impromptu lines with Trey Lorenz, one of her back-up singers, before the latter performed Jackson's "Rock with you" while Mariah goes backstage for a costume change.
Between festive costume changes and "splashes of champagne" (she made no bones about drinking alcohol because she said "we're in Vegas and I assume everyone is old enough to have a drink"), Mariah also sang the classics like "Always be my baby," "My all," and "Make it happen." Mariah also did some uptempo numbers such as "Honey," "It's like that," and the revamped "Heartbreaker/Lovehangover."
Proving her voice can still withstand 90 minutes of singing her own difficult songs (Mariah songs are just not crafted for easy singing), Mariah put the exclamation point in an already fabulous vocal show with two of her biggest hits--"We belong together" and "Hero."
Indeed, the show was a venue for Mariah to show her fun personality as it is a showcase of her vocal prowess. Throughout the night, Mariah talked to the audience endearingly as if she was just talking to her girlfriends, to the delight of the devoted fans.
It seemed Mariah and Vegas are a match made in heaven. Last October, Mariah did two back-to-back sold out shows at The Pearls in Palms Hotel & Casino. Hmmm ... perhaps Mariah should give a second thought to the rumors about her setting up a long-term Vegas residency?
Whatever the outcome is, to say that the "Angels Advocate Tour" was a success is an understatement. Truly, when it's Mariah's voice, music, and humor that take the centerstage, no note could possibly go wrong.
Source: Ken of Mariah Carey Philippines
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