2/4/10 Bell Centre
Seating capacity: 4,750
Click here to access the venue site.
Price range: TBA

Billboard Boxscore:
Rank Artist/Event: Mariah Carey, RydazNrtisT
Total Gross: $400,275 
Show Date: Feb.4, 2010
Shows/Sellouts: 3,806 / 4,750 (1/0)

2/4/10 concert
Setlist:
1. Butterfly Intro/Daydream Interlude
2. Shake It Off
3. Touch My Body
4. Fly Like a Bird
5. Make It Happen
6. Angels Cry
7. Always Be My Baby
8. It's Like That
9. The Impossible
10. Love Hangover/Heartbreaker
11. Honey
12. My All
13. Obsessed
14. We Belong Together
15. Hero

Pictures:

Click to enlarge

Reviews:

Mariah Carey at Bell Center: A Barbie Girl in a Barbie World
It was like if you were at the kingdom of Disney ... or inside the bag of Barbie.  Mariah Carey, high perched on a swing, dressed as the princess in the animated version of Beauty and the Beast, awaited on the ground by four dancers in tuxedo. Everything, on music worthy of a jewelry box. The scene was so kitsch that we didn't know if we should laugh or cry.

This feeling has lived in us during a big part of the evening, when the American singer came to the Bell Center.   For nearly two hours, Miss Carey served her pop-RnB in such a sweet package  that sometimes we had the impression that the theater was transformed in a dollhouse.

So much strass
It's with Shake it Off, Touch My Body and especially her pair of heels that Mimi began the concert. Needing help from a dancer to make two steps on the right and 3 steps on the left, the singer seemed suffocating in her golden corset.  The fans didn't seem to care, applauding a lot as soon as she raised her beautiful voice.

This is without a doubt, the biggest tragedy of the whole situation.  A star of the caliber of Mariah Carey (who, let's remember, has sold more than 175 million albums worldwide) deserves better than a cardboard scenery, an uninspired staging and a choreography worthy of a bad jazz ballet show.
Unlike most of her throne pretenders, the beauty has talent.  There's no single doubt about the strongness of her vocal chords and the little shrill screams that she likes to push here and there, are still there.

All that is missing is someone who will have the guts to tell her that all that strass and glitters does more harm to her than anything else.  Forget brushing, manicure and plunging cleavage Mariah.  Next time, come over with a few musicians, a stool and a mic.  Simplicity has often better taste.

Source: Métro Montréal
Translation: Heroes of Mariah

The evening seemed to start really bad.  An insipid open act, three guys who rapped stupid non sense and then a very long wait.  The diva made her fans wait for 75 minutes and fans loudly expressed their impatience.

Carey finally came on stage past 9:30 pm.  Sitting on a swing, they lowered her to take place at the center of the stage decorated like a Barbie doll house.  After some necessary vocalizing, she started the catchy Shake It Off that delighted the fans.  She then sang Touch My Body and Fly Like A Bird to the applause of the fans.

And suddenly, the mood changed completely.  The voice is in shape (and what a shape), the singer interacted with the crowd, sincerely apologizing for being late.  "Last night, I had to record a video for Simon Cowell' song to raise funds for Haiti.  I went to bed in the wee hours and struggled out of bed today..."

There was such an innocence, such generosity in that natural way to chatting with fans, that we forgave her everything:  the delay, lack of energy, even the kitsh side of the whole thing, her too tight sequined dresses, the cold keyboards arrangements, the ugly scenery.  We were there to see if she was still coherent and relevant, to see if she was still able to sing like she used to, to see if she would offer a true performance with many hits.   In fact, we stayed 'cause the diva is really nice and warm.

And the voice?  Fortunately, the voice is there.  Mariah Carey is not a stage animal (note: that sounds weird in English ), she even moves badly, thank god her dancers can dance.  When she opens her mouth, it's to remind us why she became the great pop star she was/is.  The warm voice, on tune, not too loud, still good in her famous high notes.

Of the fifteen songs, one unpublished and a remixed one to appear on Angels Advocate, a robust cover of Diana Ross' "Love Hangover" and her own hits, Angels Cry, Always Be My Baby, Honey, Obsessed, We Belong Together and a syrupy version of Hero for the encore.

Entertaining.  Far from being a great performance, but everyone will have the memory of a pleasant evening.

Source: Cyberpresse
Translation: Heroes of Mariah
 

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Site owner: Gilles Ollevier
Heroes of Mariah 2000
E-mail: staff@heroesofmariah.com
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