Abu Dhabi Concert: Media Reviews
An over-the-top, jaunty finale
George Michael and Alicia Keys, Zayed Sport City, Abu Dhabi
From not being a music venue at all to hosting two of the biggest stars on the planet simultaneously is a bit of a leap. Zayed Sport City is groaning at the seams. Glammed-up hordes flood the stadium; the queue for shawarma could reduce a grown man to tears. George Michael and Alicia Keys are in town, and Abu Dhabi has heard their call.
Keys bounds on stage dressed as if for a Sesame Street appearance. She's in high-waisted jeans, braces and a sequined T-shirt that depicts a beetle – or possibly a ladybird. It's an early signal: we're in for the down-home Alicia rather than the ritzy, Bond-scoring one. Her band flexes its muscles in a bluesy squall and for a moment it looks as if some of Jack White's raucousness might have rubbed off on her during their Quantum of Solace duet.
Alas, it isn't to be. With her second number, You Don't Know My Name, the tone for the set is established: it's a remarkably consistent gumbo of soul, funk and jazz, all represented in their most muso-ish strains. There's a good deal of rather noodly soloing. Midway through Karma, Keys starts introducing her musicians and a jazz flautist appears out of nowhere to take a turn at vamping in the spotlight. The band starts to look like a rest home for musically incontinent session men.
For all this, it must be admitted that Keys is a remorselessly polished performer. Her voice is smooth, controlled and untiring. Her Chopin-goes-boogie-woogie piano playing is a minor marvel. And when she commiserates with the lovelorn during How Come You Don't Call or promises to take us to Spanish Harlem during Karma, she's a very warm presence. Still, as spacious jazz-funk workout follows teary torch song, hooks grow scarce. The catchiest item in the set is 2007's No One, which sounds like a gussied-up version of Where is the Love? by the Black-Eyed Peas. It's a rare moment of poppy focus.
The same complaint could hardly be levelled at George Michael. Even at his most cynically scene-hopping, his most cussedly chorus-shy, his every lyric and melody seems precision-engineered to lodge in the deep tissue of the brain. I was bemused to find I knew about half the words to 1996's Spinning the Wheel, a song whose title I only learned during the show. So indestructible is the essence of his hits, he can even afford to disguise them. I'm Your Man comes in over a declasse hip-hop backing which sounds for all the world like Tone Loc's Funky Cold Medina. "I'm just teasing you, darlings," he coos, as the original's Motown stomp comes blasting back like a cavalry charge.
The design of the show is as campy and over-the-top as you could wish: glitterballs and lightning bolts flash on the video screens behind the stage. The band contains at least two drummers and is split over two floors, Jailhouse Rock-style, with soloists occasionally venturing out into the spotlit. Yet when Michael sings Father Figure, he fits the part rather better than is comfortable these days: the Athena icon of the Faith video has given way to a stocky, salt-and-pepper-bearded bloke in a baggy suit. Nevertheless, the voice – that unmistakable croon, at once preppy and soulful – remains intact.
Indeed, it gets a welcome workout on a trio of covers. From his Songs From the Last Century album, Roxanne is pared down to a jazzy shuffle, while Ewan McColl's The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face comes on like a major-key counterpart to Ne Me Quitte Pas. Michael even, with confessed impertinence, has a crack at the sainted Nina Simone's Feeling Good. Remarkably, he pulls it off.
This show has been billed as the singer's last, and there are signs that he may be fretting over his legacy. The video screens keep filling with iconic images of Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana and so on – Michael's longed-for peers, one supposes. There's a defiant edge to the demand: "Anybody here remember the Eighties?" which introduces Everything She Wants.
"A huge thanks for everybody who's stuck with me for the past 25, 26 years," he says as the night is winding down. "I know I haven't always made it easy." This gets a laugh. Yet the dominant mood is oddly businesslike. Even during the victory lap of Careless Whisper and Freedom 90, there's no excess sentiment. As finales go, it's a brisk, even a jaunty, affair. I wouldn't be surprised if he's got another booking lined up.
An over-the-top, jaunty finale
Michael says farewell in style
The two-time Grammy Award winning star George Michael entertained thousands of fans at the biggest concert the country has ever seen. Last night's show marked the singer's swansong, with an estimated 30,000 fans in attendance at Zayed Sports City's football stadium. Earlier, the hit singer Alicia Keys took to the stage to open the show.Five screens projected video of the 45-year-old Michael performing hits from a 25-year career that has seen him sell more than 100 million records.
Sarah Harman paid £600 (Dh3,300) to fly from London to see her idol George Michael perform his final concert. The trip was "worth every penny", she said. "I've loved him for as long as I can remember, ever since he was in Wham!. This concert is something I'll remember forever and is something I just couldn't miss."
Four thousand audience members attended the concert for free after Aldar, the housing developer, gave away tickets at Zayed Sports City yesterday afternoon. "I'm very happy with these free tickets – I love Alicia Keys's voice," said Said Ahmed, a 20-year-old Emirati.
Keys, a Grammy Award-winner and hit maker in her own right, has sold more than 30 million records and sings on the theme tune to the latest James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. She was visiting the UAE for the second time after performing in Dubai in 2004. Before going on stage, she said fans who were at that show would see a big difference in her performance.
"That was three or four years ago and I'm a different person now," she said. "I'm more of a woman as opposed to a girl. I'm way more in control of my life and myself."
Keys, who has spent time in Egypt, was also happy to be back in the region. "I'm very inspired by the music here," she said. "I love the traditional sound and the singing." On her first visit to Abu Dhabi, Keys was also excited about exploring today and visiting with some friends who also happened to be in the capital. "Abu Dhabi's an up and coming city so it makes performing here really exciting," she said. "Things are totally outrageous, huge and beautiful."
"When I told people I was coming to Abu Dhabi, I had some silly reactions. One person even told me 'don't drink the water' but in general, everyone I know has heard of it and many of my friends do business here or in Dubai."
Michael says farewell in style
George Michael And Alicia Keys
You can say what you want about his personal life (and lets face it, we all do) but George Michael knows how to put on a show. The 80s legend took Abu Dhabi by storm last night as he performed his first ever gig in the UAE. In a tour that's rumoured to be his very last, George didn't disappoint, running us through all of his classics, even stretching back to his Wham! days.
Dressed in his trademark back suit-black t-shirt combo, he sang almost every song from his near-30-year career, including I'm Your Man, Father Figure, Fast Love, Faith, Spinning The Wheel, before making the crowd wait for his encore of Careless Whisper and Freedom.
George looked teeny-weeny on the giant imposing stage at Zayed Sports City, but the giant screen backdrop made up for it, playing his 80s videos for us girls to reminisce to a time when we still thought he was attainable.
The warm up to George was the super-talent that is Miss Alicia Keys. The diva looked stunning up close and her vocals were simply unmatched. The crowd stood in awe as she effortlessly belted out some of her biggest hits incuding the Grammy-award-winning Fallin', as well as more recent numbers Superwoman, Teenage Love Affair and the anthemic, No One.
This double-delight was more than worth the ticket-price, but the organization of the event fell flat. More than 20 minutes into Keys' performance, hundreds of fans were left stranded outside the stadium, still waiting to hand over their ticket (or collect them from the box office in some cases) as the hapless security teams tried to cope with the queues. Once inside getting a drink (which first required queuing for coupons, then a 30 minute wait in, yet another queue for the bar), proved almost impossible - a situation made worse when the bars ran out of stocks.
But, as soon as George took to the stage all was forgiven and the (lack of) drinks were forgotten, as hundreds of fans flocked back to their seats, giving the weary barstaff time to re-stock...
George Michael And Alicia Keys
George and Alicia entertain Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, Austria, Argentina or Azerbaijan it didn't matter how far you'd come to see George Michael and Alicia Keys, it was well worth the journey. Value for money was the name of the game at the double-billed gig at Abu Dhabi's Zayed Sports City.
Giant screens projected crisp images of both Keys and Michael for more than three hours of live music at what was billed as Michael's final live performance, after announcing he would stop touring earlier this year.
Bank manager Fiona Peel travelled from the UK to see her idol one final time. The 29-year-old from Somerset said: "I am lost for words. It was amazing and definitely worth the journey."
The two-time Grammy Award-winning singer had a hard act to follow as Keys wowed fans and probably picked up a few more as she sang her way through an hour-long set of pure music. Fast becoming a rarity in today's music business, the songstress stayed in one outfit, forgot the fancy dance routines, special effects and videos and instead proved herself as one performer who is even better live than on her albums.
Impressive
A toilet break still an impossibility (and water? Don't even go there!) it was Michael turn and almost every body in the house agreed it was a hard act to follow. The incredibly cynical left saying they had already had their money's worth.
A 30-minute stage set change later and it was round two — and it was anything but disappointing. Bursting onto the stage in a suit jacket and roomy trousers (perfect for executing his trademark wiggle), Michael may not look 18 anymore but his voice hasn't aged a bit. Five screens projected video of the 45-year-old performing hits from a 25-year career that has seen him sell more than 100 million records.
Biggest karaoke session
But as expected it was Careless Whisper and Freedom the crowd were waiting for. Heads turned as the lights went out for close to five minutes before Michael reappeared and the famous synthesiser intro began and Abu Dhabi held it's biggest karaoke session yet.
Fans came from as far away as Russia and Canada to see the former-Wham! members swansong, though most, including Danial Metter and his wife Kate, did not have far to travel. Originally from Glasgow, the couple has lived in the capital for eight years. "We are so pleased concerts are starting to take place in Abu Dhabi," he said. "It has been a while coming but it's worth it to see these amazing people perform on our doorstep."
Meanwhile, reports in the British press claim an offer of £1 million (Dh6 million) was made Michael, who announced his retirement earlier this year, to come to the UAE and perform for one last time.
Michael, who said his age was the key factor in his decision to give up touring, said he is seeking "a quieter life" out of the public eye, But he didn't let his age get in the way as he gave an energetic performance.
An amazing gig, two breath-taking performances from two inspiring artists. One criticism (or suggestion) — a duet would have been the cherry on an already perfectly-baked cake.
George and Alicia entertain Abu Dhabi
