You want it raw, huh? Here's what I wrote down in my li'l notebook during last night's George Michael concert/disco party at American Airlines Center. More thoughts later.
SETLIST:
"Waiting (Reprise)" -- He sang this from backstage, no doubt while getting the final touches on hair and makeup. But the stage is awesome -- one huge vertical screen in the middle and two on the sides, with openings that reveal three levels of band members.
"Fastlove" -- From a door in the middle screen, he appears. He dances in that Georgely way. The entire crowd jumps to its feet at the song's halfway point. Sitting down is not an option.
"I'm Your Man" -- Holy *&@#, he's doing the Wham hits!
"Father Figure" -- He's now surrounded by his backup singers. They and the crowd are helping him with the high notes he can't quite hit. But there aren't many of those.
"Hard Day" -- Album track from 'Faith'? Don't remember it that well.
"Everything She Wants" -- Wham-a-licious. Crowd is the most excited it's been all night. These are some '80s freaks up in here.
"One More Try" -- Backup singers surround him again, this time for some gospel. Lovin' it.
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" -- the point at which he reminds us how skilled a vocalist he is. That doesn't mean that all of us aren't ready to dance again, soon.
"An Easier Affair" -- He knew we wanted to dance again.
"Too Funky" -- There's footage from the video up on the big center screen. It reminds me of a time when Tyra Banks wasn't annoying. Sigh.
"Star People" -- Another one I don't remember that well.
--INTERMISSION (During which I spot at least three Pizza Huts in the span of 5 minutes)--
"Faith" -- He's doing the dance moves he did in the video. I called my friend to let her listen. "THE SOUND IS AMAZING OMG," she texts later.
George tells the house, "So far you are the best #$%ing crowd I've had." That's what you get from your adoptive hometown, sailor.
"Spinning the Wheel" [nothing written; don't know why.]
"Feeling Good" -- Michael Buble would never put a burlesque dancer with teeny-tiny pasties on the big screens during this song. That's what makes George different.
"Roxanne" -- A jazzed-out version of the Sting classic. Not sure how I feel about this.
"Kissing A Fool" -- I KNOW how I feel about this. [Swooning.]
George blames the air conditioning on the fact that he can't hit some of the high notes, but agrees that a.c. is a must in Texas. Glad he's not a diva like Tom Waits.
"Amazing" -- a celebration of gay marriage (and a subtle call for drunken females to dance their asses off at concert arenas).
"Flawless" -- Nice beat.
"Outside" -- George suddenly appears in a sparkly cop uniform, complete with handcuffs dangling from his waist. Disco ball lighting. Bananas.
ENCORE 1: "A Different Corner" and "Careless Whisper." The latter is an all-out singalong.
ENCORE 2: George asks the crowd what it wants to hear for the final tune. There's no question about what they want. "FREE-DOM!" they chant. And he delivers.
Comments (1)
Comments
God what a great freakin concert! I left almost as in love with him as I was in the 80s!!
Posted by: Nickie | July 16, 2008 11:52 AM