Mariah concert turns out to be a visual feast
Pop-diva concerts are all about the visuals. So, Cher rides a fake elephant on her "farewell" tour. Christina Aguilera beefs up her "Stripped" tour with a guy who, duh, strips. And Mariah Carey's new tour du jour looks like a Barbie doll has dressed up for a ball but has gone tiptoeing onto the stage of a hip-hop Cirque du Soleil show. It is, as the phrase goes, ghetto fabulous.
I know that sounds bizarre because it looked bizarre on Saturday, when Carey kicked off her first U.S. tour in three years at the outstanding Colosseum, which Caesars Palace built for pop-diva Celine Dion. Here are images from Saturday's glamtacular:
Carey wore eight form-fitting costumes that shrink-wrapped her hourglass figure. One short-short dress sparkled pink. Later, a pink glitter top matched her pigtails. Carey is 32. The butterfly is Carey's logo (it symbolizes her Peter Pan flight away from a world of meanie-pies), so she wore a butterfly ring. And there were stickers of pink butterflies stuck to a grand piano.
Eleven dancers lounged around and sometimes danced, not so originally, in hip-hop circus wear, like the guy in a Lakers jersey wearing a long, yellow necktie, and the dude in the sparkly top hat. Five very good band members could have passed for street-basketball players, wearing sports jerseys and complicated hair rows.
Stage settings, and large-screen videos, gave nods to the film "Moulin Rouge" and to Cirque du Soleil shows: chaise lounges, circus platforms and a windmill. The happy Barbie theme fit Carey's personality the best. Long ago, she gave her inner, playful child a forever hug, and she hasn't let go. Her album titles read like answers to the quiz-show category of "things you see in a nursery" - "Music Box", "Butterfly", "Glitter", "Rainbow" and "Charmbracelet".
But she also did the adult thing on Saturday. A few times, she rotated her hips and thighs suggestively, but not smoothly, as if she doesn't employ these motions much when she's off stage. Beyond the imagery, it was a concert, of course. Carey sang new songs and pop hits from the past decade: "Daydreamer", "I'll Be There", "Fantasy", "Always Be My Baby", "Make It Happen", "Vision of Love" and "Hero".
Carey's songs were similar to each other. They were inspirational, midtempo singles bearing hip-hop rhythms toned down for the masses. Her five-octave voice was full. Like Aguilera, Carey is a rare pop singer; she can outbelt her four, gospel-capable, backup singers.
Speaking of the stronger-voiced Aguilera, both she and Carey have been made fun of, publicly, by rapper Eminem, because Eminem gains fame by making fun of women he has known. Aguilera didn't address Eminem on her tour here. But Carey sang "Clown" about him. During the song, two men wore white-guy-executive masks, stood on stilts and used ropes to control a dancer in a big Eminem wig, marionette-style. Fans cheered loudly when she sang of the "Clown", that, essentially, he is a stupidhead.
Carey gave fans talking points. "The vibrance is quite invigorating." "This next song is about survival and perseverance and all those kinds of things." And, "This is another one of those inspirational songs." Carey's got a great voice. Her songs are catchy. Some are quite good. Sometimes, she goes too far. She still turns the word "all" in "Vision of Love" into a gymnastics routine of at least 10 syllables. But she puts her talent to fair use.
Maybe Carey's girlie nature dips into infantilism at times. But it doesn't feel calculated. The validation of her shallow personae is that her big smile seems genuine. (Review Journal) Many thanks to Mariah-Carey.org.
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