Friday 21 December 2001

Miracle on 34th street

The holiday season's last radio-sponsored mega-concert was also its shortest. The real miracle behind Tuesday night's "Miracle on 34th Street" at Madison Square Garden was that WKTU (FM-103.5) managed to present 18 acts in less than three hours. With a 40-piece band backing performers such as Enrique Iglesias, Alicia Keys, Deborah Cox and Mya, the show's pacing was impeccably swift, as stars were hustled on and off the stage at a staggering rate. For producer David Gest, who also put together September's ridiculously ramshackle Michael Jackson tribute, it was a major accomplishment.

But while having all performers share the same backing band helped the concert move quickly, it also made it more difficult for the artists to break out and turn their brief performances into something memorable. Opening acts such as Blu Cantrell, Amber and Christina Milian, especially, had trouble distinguishing their pop-y R&B tracks from one another.

A few of the veteran performers, however, were able to make the most of a tough situation. With just one song, her hit "Whenever, Wherever", Shakira electrified the crowd with her gyrating moves and vaguely Middle Eastern beats and melodies. Shaggy's irrepressible personality and dance-hall toasting also won over a crowd that already had heard "It Wasn't Me" and "Angel" played untold gazillions of times on local radio stations.

Mariah Carey turned up for her third local-radio concert in a week, again refusing to sing, but clad in a clingy black dress that incited hollers. Carey introduced Alicia Keys, who demonstrated the breadth of her young talent with riveting takes on "A Woman's Worth" and "Fallin'". Both Keys and Mary J. Blige showed that sophisticated R&B still has a place in the top 40.

The night's most unlikely success, however, came at the finale as a buoyant Liza Minnelli, who is engaged to the show's producer, flashed an enormous diamond ring and declared herself "the future Mrs. Gest". The last time she played the Garden, at Jackson's tribute, she elicited gasps at her psychedelic makeup and evident weight gain, but she now appeared to be back in shape.

She began with a pleasant version of Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child", but few seemed to recognize the song. Then she brought out a high-kicking chorus line of New York City cops and firefighters, reprising the version of "New York, New York" that she sang at Shea Stadium last September.

It was another of those rare moments when a powerful performer and a classic pop song come together to transform an audience. After a year of public tragedy and personal health problems, an old-timer embodied the city's fighting spirit and broke out some well-needed razzle-dazzle to show the new kids how it's done.

(New York Post)



COMMENTS
There are not yet comments to this article.

Only registrated members can post a comment.
© MCArchives 1998-2024 (26 years!)
NEWS
MESSAGEBOARD