Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Nicki Minaj Tour

Pink Friday Tour - 18th May 2012
Support: Timomatic

I had seen Nicki Minaj perform previously on television and did not think much of her live vocal ability. I have also seen her perform on stage with Britney Spears on the Femme Fatale Tour DVD, I'm about 99% sure she lip-synced this performance alongside Britney. I was not sure how she would sound live, although did not fail vocally.
At this concert, I have never belted out a song as loudly as I did 'Starships' - the beginning of me getting sick and also losing my voice; although not a bad thing, I guess in the moment, you don't think about this stuff.

Vocals: Nicki's vocals seemed to be near spot on. I am not sure whether she lip-synced or sang live. She didn't miss any lyrics and was amazing to see live. Although sometimes being drowned out by the audience, this is a good thing in a way as it shows the crowd is enjoying the concert and isn't bored. She did not have a band there live, this also lead to my speculation that Nicki did not sing live and had a backing track the entire time. At times, it was obvious she was singing over the top of the track, however other sings it was not obvious whether she was live or not.
Costumes: Nicki wore her usual bright and flamboyant costumes. Mini shorts that showed off her fake and rather large arse, and a tutu which did not help her curvaceous figure. The costumes were eye-catching and appealing to the audience. There was probably one too many costume changes for the set which lasted just one hour.
Stage: The stage was set up with a platform and stairs at the back, screens all over the stage showing bright lights and graphics - including during one song transforming the look of her stage into that of a house with hot pink walls and a fireplace. Although the stage had many graphics screens on it, it was not easy to see Nicki with no cameras used in the arena. This was not good for people who were sitting far back - or like me and have bad eyes!
Dancing: Nicki danced at various occasions throughout, although much of the time she was walking between the two sides of the stage and the front, as well as being up on top of the platform. She had back-up dancers throughout the concert which were able to make the concert more interesting as the crowd didn't know where to look - at her or her amazing dancers.
Setlist: The setlist included all her hit singles, including 'Super Bass' and 'Starships', as well as many other of her great songs off the two albums she has released. She also performed the song she features in with David Guetta, 'Turn Me On', this rating very highly with the crowd! The crowd seemed to enjoy the setlist, however as usual it was the released singles that were pleasers all around.
Crowd Interaction: Nicki could have interacted with the crowd a lot more than she did. She did the standard 'thank you for coming' and all the usual stuff artists do. About halfway through, she did get three people up on stage to compete. There was a dancer and two singers - all winning money of some sort. It was difficult to tell whether the dancer and one of the singers had been placed in the audience as they were so good. It seemed they both had a planned routine.

Support Act: I had never heard any of Timomatic's music or seen his dancing. I must say, he is one of the most amazing dancers I have ever seen!! I did not pay much attention to his singing as I was more focused on his dancing. I would see him again just for his dancing, although an amazing dancer, it was difficult to see him at times as he was wearing white pants and singlet, with a white curtain behind him - not good.


Overall I would rate this concert four out of five stars - I would probably see her again, it was a great night.

Peace
ConcertGoer93 x

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Jessie J Tour

Heartbeat Tour - March 7th 2012
Supports: Amy Meredith, Ruby Rose and Professor Green

Jessie J has always been a favourite of mine. I was aware that she was forced to cancel two previous shows in Perth due to being sick and losing her voice. The lead up to the concert I was so worried she was going to cancel in Melbourne. The show went ahead, however not without problems. Although strong vocals, it was feared that prior to her encore she would not be coming back on due to her voice once again almost failing on her. She did come back, and her encore was one of the best encores I have seen - 'Price Tag' and 'Domino'.
With issues finding someone to go with less than a week before the concert - I refused to go alone. This did not make it easy for me. However asking a large number of people, I finally found someone to go with. Life saver.

Vocals: Although Jessie J had prevous lost her voice in the days before the concert, she was able to come out and perform the entire concert as if she had no vocal issues. She had strong vocals. However, towards the end of the main part of the concert (before encore) her voice was getting weaker, with fears she would not be back to perform her encore and her two biggest songs. With an extra long break between the end of the main set and the encore, it would not have mattered if she had a voice or not; the crowd singing made up for the lack of vocals she had.
Costumes: Jessie J wore leotards with a long wrap around. She changed the wrap around throughout the concert and kept the same red leotard on. During her performance of 'Do It Like A Dude' she wore a denim vest, and an oversized snapback hat. This is her impression of a 'dude'. Her costumes were basic but it worked for her.
Stage: The stage had stairs up the centre of it and a raised platform at the back. This was not used much throughout the performance as she tend to stay fairly near to the front of the stage - closer to her fans. This is a good thing it was not used much as their were cables which affected our view of her on the raised platform. The stairs were used for her to sit on when she performaned a ballard.
Dancing: Jessie J is not much of a dancer. She did move around and use the stage to its full potential however did not dance. This was not an issue as there was a lot of crowd interaction and you did not really seem to notice the lack of dancing during the performance.
Set List: The set list was all Jessie J originals. She performed her entire album 'Who You Are', as well as her latest single 'Domino'. Although on stage for just over an hour, there was no need for any covers to be done. Performing an entire album is becoming less common, so it was great to hear all of her songs live - not just her released singles.
Crowd Interaction: Jessie J interacted with the crowd a lot. She was constantly talking to them between songs and also had a girl brought up on stage to join her for 'Price Tag'. With sound issues throughout, and ear piece feedback issues, Jessie J was able to just chat with the audience as if she were chatting to a friend about her day - entertaining!

Support Acts: Amy Meredith, I have seen them live before, I know they have a great sound but they are such weird guys. We only saw their last songs as we were late getting to the venue. From what we saw they were really good and got the crowd amped up for Jessie J to come on. Professor Green, he was not at all what I expected to see. He was a hip hop rapper thing. I don't even know how to describe the style of music he performed. His vocals lacked, with only one good song 'Read All About It' - mostly because it was a duet and you could understand the girl. Ruby Rose was there to keep the crowd attention between sets, she did a DJ set. As much as I love the girl, I'm positive she puts a CD in her decks and lets it play.


Overall I would rate this concert four and a half stars out of five - I would definitely see her again.

Peace
ConcertGoer93 x

Human Nature - Las Vegas

Smokey Robinson Presents Human Nature - 24th February 2012
This performance had no support, Human Nature have a residency at the Imperial Palace, Las Vegas.

I had always had a soft spot for Human Nature, they have an amazing sound and the most incredible harmonies. 
We bought our VIP tickets as soon as they went on sale, we had a table that was right up against the stage, the most amazing seats, right in the centre of the stage. They may as well have sweat on you. Being so close to the stage, they kept eyeing me off during the entire show, I  had to make sure I was into it the whole time - it wasn't hard to do, they were amazing!!!!
Getting eyed off by four guys and feeling like I was getting serenaded by them all when Phil would look into my eyes and sing, sounds romantic right? It was so weird.
We did meet the four guys following the performance, I was so excited to meet Toby... He is my favourite. Yes, I did get a photo with him.
These guys are some of the nicest guys I have ever met, I would gladly meet them again!!

Vocals: These guys have the grestest live harmony I have ever heard. Their voices are near perfection. Easily heard and so strong. These guys have been performing together for many years, but their vocals never fail in their live performances.
Costumes: Four guys dressed in identical suits. I love it. Typical 'boy-band' way of dressing. They dressed appropriately to their motown style of performance. I loved all the different suits they wore throughout their performance. Great wardrobe choices!
Stage: A simple stage layout with moving signs up the back of the stage. This sign was the typical bright catch older style sign. It was very effective as a back drop to the performance. As the sign moved upwards, the back drop became black with many lights in the back of it - night sky like. It was very pretty! Stairs around the stage created a platform which was used a lot throughout the show for performance.
Dancing: The boys had limited dancing but their moves were very appropriate to their performance style and worked really well.
Set list: I will admit, I do not know many Human Nature songs, and I did not know many of the covers they performed. 'Baby I Need Your Loving' was the only song I really knew they performed. Most of the songs they did perform were all motown classics that they were able to put their own spin on.
Crowd Interaction: Human Nature interacted differently with the crowd to any American artist I have ever seen (with the exception of Pink). They came accross as typical laid back Australian guys. The beginning of the show they asked if there were any Australians there, us being the only ones they kept referring to us throughout. During the performance the guys ran accross the tables which were in line with the stage - including ours! Meeting them after the show was so good - although it was a little strange meeting such well known Australians in another country.





Overall I rate this perfomance five out of five.

Peace
ConcertGoer93 x