"Zoo" Carey-ed away
At radio station Z-100's summer kick-off concert "Zootopia", the order of the lineup was inconsequential. The brightest stars of Sunday's variety show were easily Boston bad boys Aerosmith and New York cutie Mariah Carey. Their sets were easily as the best of the 5-hour-plus, 17-act bill in terms of material, stage excitement and musical performance.
That isn't to take too much away from acts such as Third Eye Blind, Simple Plan, Ja-Rule, Ashanti or TLC, but if you're going to make your mark when you're in a gang-bang concert, you can't hold anything back. Carey looked terrific and even pointed it out to the crowd. "Do you love the ensemble?" she asked with a runway spin. In hot pants, a black bra and a small vest, what was there not to like?
The singer worked it with femme rapper Da Brat and later with Busta Rhymes. But where Carey displayed the depth of her ability as a show woman was on the ballad "Bring On the Heartbreak". Carey - who's had her troubles over the last couple of years - drew on her experiences and made the song breathe, hitting notes that sent shivers up your spine and others so high only dogs could hear them.
Aerosmith played the longest set of the night with six songs - all choice hits, including "Sweet Emotion", "Dream On" and closing with "Walk This Way". Toxic twins Joe Perry and Steven Tyler both made good use of the giant Z-shaped catwalk that extended off the main stage - adding to the spectacle of their set.
TLC - who were supposedly giving their final performance - paid tribute to Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, who died last year, by using recordings to recreate the trio. It was a daring effort that ultimately failed. T-Boz and Chili may have actually been singing but because of the editing, it all sounded canned.
What really should have been canned was the inclusion of "American Idols" Kelly Clarkson, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. America may love these performers, but when placed on stage with professionals, their shortcomings are very apparent. Clarkson had the grace and stage presence of a Shetland pony during a two-song set that proved her a shrill, cringe-inducing singer.
And Aiken and Studdard proved themselves to be the Laurel and Hardy of mush ballads. Aiken's half-baked rendition of "Bridge over Troubled Water" was hardly passable for a backroom Las Vegas showcase, let alone the Zootopia stage. A human puppet, Aiken was unable to hit the song's whispered highs, and its emotional tenor was beyond his scope. As for Studdard, he offered a "who cares" performance, passionless and stiff. Wasting the finale slot, the duo dutifully provided dull music for the crowd to flood out of the stadium - and the audience obliged. (New York Post)
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