| Wednesday 24 September 2003 |
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Mariah at Manchester, NH
About halfway through last night's concert at the Verizon Wireless Arena, Mariah Carey found her groove. The good news is, she's still the diva with the golden cords. And yet, for whatever reason Carey's been professionally struggling to rekindle the star power that made her the top-selling female vocalist of the 1990s. Much of her 13-year career has been as disjointed as last night's production. It didn't help that the night began with some organized chaos in the lobby, as some 700 ticket holders had to swap their original seats for a relocation pass. An additional 700 had been relocated in advance.
According to Verizon spokesman Jason Perry, the changeover from full-blown world tour to a scaled-back U.S. version of intimate venues after tickets initially went on sale meant blocking off about half the seats inside the arena for last night's show. "We moved the stage forward and dropped what we call a half-house curtain from the ceiling to block off the seats from behind, basically so you don't see the 5,000 empty seats," said Perry last night. He estimated the crowd at about 5,000, plus or minus, adding that the tour had been scaled back at Carey's request for a more intimate experience.
The show was supposed to start at 7:30 p.m., but for the first 90 minutes fans were patient and polite as an unbilled stand-up comic took the stage. It felt like a distraction from the stalled relocation process. Carey finally emerged from a side entrance just before 9 p.m. and sang her way through the crowd. She looked stunning, hair blonder than ever and rivaling the glimmer of her plentiful wardrobe, a parade of glittery ensembles that accentuated Carey's dangerous curves throughout the night.
She delivered for fans with renditions of "My All", "Through the Rain", "Dreamlover", and "Can't Take That Away". But the persistent three-ring circus atmosphere did nothing for fans. During one song, three masked men on stilts were pulling the strings of a floppy marionette while Carey sang from the side, seated on a circus pedestal while images of cartoon money bags floated on a hanging screen to the rear. What was up with that?
And during "Honey", despite Carey's brilliant multi-octave delivery, dancers upstaged her with kung-fu moves. Ditto during "I Know What You Want", her recent MTV-worthy duet with Busta Rhymes, performed last night along with a canned video and lots of dancers. Clearly, the 33-year-old singer should let her vocals do the crowd-pleasing. In fact, the lack of singable hits was one constructive criticism Chris and Maria Mastriano of Atkinson offered as they made their way to their car after less than an hour of watching the show.
"I thought it would be more entertaining," said Chris Mastriano. "I didn't even hear a hit song." His wife agreed, adding that according to their ticket, rising R&B singer Ashanti was supposed to be on the bill as well. As it turned out, their ticket was purchased back in May - before the change in venue plans. "It would be a perfect concert to take your 12- or 13-year-old to. Nothing offensive about it. It just wasn't what I expected." said Maria Mastriano.
Others, including Mike Khouri of Boston, followed the star to New Hampshire, after catching two shows earlier this month in Connecticut and Massachusetts. "Her voice is unbelievable - stronger, more incredible than ever. If anyone had any doubts, this show proves differently. She doesn't leave fans wanting for hits. It's a great show," said Khouri. (The Union Leader)
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