Carey's "comeback" tour plays out
If there's anything to be learned from Mariah Carey's performance Tuesday night, it is this: You can do anything you want, if you only put your mind to it. Have faith. Believe in yourself. Don't give up. Really. A monthlong shock therapy session with Dr. Phil couldn't promise half as much self-empowerment as this show.
"This is a song about perseverance, pressing on," Carey said early in the set, demurely posing on a chaise longue before launching into the lite-gospel "Through the Rain". "Things like that." No kidding. Things like that applied to easily half her two-hour set, a veritable checklist of featherweight pop anthems with titles such as "Make It Happen", "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)", "My All", "Hero" and "My Saving Grace".
But such is the mantra of Carey, who performed in Chicago for the first time after 2001's cinematic fiasco "Glitter", a recording contract fire sale, and its corresponding and well-documented breakdown for the kind of "exhaustion" that never seems to befall non-famous people. This was a show expressly designed to announce that Mariah Is Back, from her inclusion of all those "I will survive"-type numbers to her immediate display of the kind of high-frequency vocal trapeze work that can affect your cell phone reception. Indeed, Carey and her handlers have masterfully turned a gossip-column PR nightmare into a rebirthing theme that, if her stage show is any indication, she intends to pound us into submission with.
It's true that Carey has persevered far more than her detractors might have expected. According to SoundScan, her "comeback" record "Charmbracelet" has moved 1.1 million units nationwide since its release last December - respectable enough, but well off-par for Carey - and this tour, her first in three years, will take her to smaller theaters nationwide.
But on Night 2 of the tour's U.S. leg, there were already signs of trouble. The show took place in the United Center's "theater setting", but even with the 300 level curtained off there were plenty of vacant seats in the mid-level and floor areas. The tour is being touted as an "intimate evening", but the UC at its coziest remains about as intimate as an episode of "Big Brother". And any evening that boasts a cast such as this - at times, Carey was joined by no fewer than 20 dancers, singers and musicians - is hardly intimate, anyway. The show was never sure if it was a single-spotlight cabaret affair or a full-on Cirque du Soleil-esque production complete with cartoonish characters, costume changes and bizarre supporting actors (a jester-dancer in a Detroit Pistons jersey materialized during "Clown", Carey's attitude-heavy retort to the advances of one Marshall Mathers).
Then there's the matter of the diva herself. Carey's fluttery voice - the voice that's launched a thousand "American Idol" auditions - largely remains in fine form, even if it sometimes skirts challenges it would have demolished a few years back. She expertly glided over the backing tracks at times ("My Saving Grace" and "Always Be My Baby") and was overwhelmed by them at others ("Honey"), but showed a single-minded dedication to proving that she still had game.
No, the biggest problem Carey has is that, even by the ultra-choreographed standards of pop shows, this one seemed especially chilly and distant. Despite Carey's blank-check declaration that the Chicago crowd was her "best audience to date", her band was frequently eaten up by the backing tracks, and the pace, oft-interrupted by dance interludes, video snippets and a band introduction process that can only be described as epic, was entirely too choppy. When there weren't anthems, there were pre-taped bids for hip-hop credibility like "Honey" (anybody remember Mase?) or "Fantasy" with the Artist Formerly Known as Ol' Dirty Bastard. Only an unlikely, guitar-fueled cover of Def Leppard's "Bringin' on the Heartbreak" really heated up, and it's a testament to the sameness of Carey's catalog that an '80s hair-metal ballad seemed fresh in terms of structure and muscle tone.
It's been a while since her glory days, and it's strange to note that the world's No. 1-selling female artist of all time has trouble filling arenas. While it's heartening to see Carey persevering after her troubles, the fact remains that if the show - and the empty seats - are any indication, her road continues for a while yet. (Chicago Sun-Times)
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