PRESS & FANS REVIEWS: ATLANTIC CITY

Recenze fanoušků i tisku na koncert v Borgata Event Center, Atlantic City.

Mariah Carey at the Borgata - By David R. Stampone - Philadelphia Inquirer

The altogether dazzling yet disarmingly human super-diva Mariah Carey was checking some text onstage at the Borgata's sold-out Event Center Saturday night. "I've written a few songs in my life," she quipped in understated explanation. "And sometimes the set list changes."
So it had since her New Year's Eve show at Madison Square Garden. For this date, beginning in earnest her "Angels Advocate" tour, her first live jaunt in more than three years, Carey changed the order and swapped five different songs into her 18-tune set.

One - the romance-terminating "It's a Wrap," from 2009's Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, her 12th studio album - was a highlight, allowing the singer to soulfully flaunt her vocal prowess out in front of the occasionally overwhelming backup voices.

Also laudable was the acted-out choreography of a diva's dismissal of her pleading, come-home-drunk guy (one of the nine dancers) with wised-up lines ("I was oh so acquiescent, but I learned my lesson") and her famously fluttering mic-free hand.

More song-specific and Mariah-centric thespian conceits would be a great concert idea, giving Carey enlivening focus for each number - and answering the complaints that the native Long Islander is too inert in performance. (And we know the woman can act, even under pressure: She went from the career-tailspin-inducing cinematic disaster that was her 2001 bomb, Glitter, to awards for her role as a social worker in last year's acclaimed Precious.)

Then again, the 2,200 excited fans in Atlantic City didn't seem to mind the statuesque Carey just walking the stage, casually bantering a bit but mostly communicating via her five-octave range, including the sparingly deployed pyrotechnics of her ultrahigh "dolphin squeal" whistle register.

Such live staples as her deliriously received 1991 smash "Emotions" - an unprecedented fifth consecutive No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, one of her countless chart-topping feats - would be unthinkable without those notes.

The closing encore was the inevitable "Hero," but oddly, even though Carey's new record is dedicated to Michael Jackson, she never did her renowned cover of the Jackson Five's "I'll Be There." (Trey Lorenz did emerge midset with Jackson's "Rock With You" in tribute while Carey changed costumes backstage.)

However, Carey got down with some Motown by effectively mashing Diana Ross' "Love Hangover" with her own dancey "Heartbreaker." And sharing the state of her heart as always, she performed the live debut of "The Impossible," dedicated to her rapper-actor-radio-DJ husband, Nick Cannon (who hosted an after-party at the Borgata's swanky mur.mur club).


Mariah Carey surprisingly dull in show at Borgata - By Scott Cronick - Press of Atlantic City

Mariah Carey may be a pop diva, but much of the sold-out crowd at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa treated her like she was a deity on Saturday night.

Constantly taking pictures and video, screaming at the top of their lungs in appreciation and holding up signs to express their devotion, Carey's fans are undoubtedly loyal.

And they certainly have plenty of good reasons. Carey is to pop what Led Zeppelin is to rock, what Metallica is to metal and what Johnny Cash is to country.

Her resume doesn't lie. The Long Island, N.Y., native scored 18 No. 1 singles in the United States, second only to The Beatles and ahead of Elvis. Her 12 studio albums have sold more than 62.5 millions copies in the U.S., and earned her five Grammy awards as well as the title of most successful artist of the 1990s in the U.S. by Billboard.

Yet here was the 40-year-old songstress in Borgata's 2,200-seat Event Center. Like Madonna – arguably her only competition as the most popular female artist of all time – she should be playing arenas.

So why is she doing a mostly theater tour?

The truth is ... she's a bore. While Carey clearly has unbelievable pipes – her five-octave vocal range was on full display and flawless Saturday night – she has the stage presence of a slug. An attractive slug, but a slug nonetheless.

Surrounded by a nine-member dance team that was at worst clunky and at best average, Carey's idea of being a headliner consists of standing on stage, singing her heart out and letting the dancers do all of the work.

For the fans who are content with hearing her belt out unbelievable vocals, it works. For casual fans looking for a good show, Carey is certainly not that kind of entertainer.

On the road for the first time since her 2006 comeback tour, "The Adventures of Mimi," Saturday was Carey's second stop on her "Angels Advocate Tour" to support her new album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel."

Carey, who made four costume changes but opened wearing a white dress partly made of feathers, rolled out a solid mix of her chart smashes, fan favorites and new tracks, showing her diversity and stellar range.

Although she pulled out songs that went all the way back to 1991, a large part of Carey's 18-song set came from "Memoirs" and 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi."

Particularly memorable tracks off "Mimi" included the Usher-like "Shake It Off;" "It's Like That," which fuses old-school hip-hop from Run-DMC; and "We Belong Together," a No. 1 hit that cemented her career comeback.

All three of those tunes, as well as the fan favorite "Always Be My Baby," had one thing in common: Jermaine Dupri, who co-wrote them and served as guest DJ at an afterparty at Borgata's mixx nightclub.

Off "Memoirs," her latest singles "Obsessed" and "H.A.T.E.U." – Having A Typical Emotional Upset – seemed to get the biggest crowd reaction, while "Angels Cry" and "The Impossible," which she dedicated to husband Nick Cannon, who also performed at a Borgata afterparty, landed flat.

Carey was not shy about pulling out the big guns either, including at least a half-dozen No. 1 songs, all memorable in their own way.

"Touch My Body," off last year's "E=MC2," was simple pop at its best; "Heartbreaker" had the crowd on its feet; "Emotions" showed her fun, disco side and her ability to still hit every high note; and her signature "Hero" was a fitting finale.

Aside from her voice, there were other upsides. For the opener, Carey was lowered from the rafters on a giant swing. She drank Champagne and reclined on a couch while joking about her diva status during "Subtle Invitation": "Do they expect me to stand up for the whole show? They call me a diva because ... I guess I am one." She threw in a cover of the Diana Ross smash "Love Hangover" to lead into "Heartbreaker." And Trey Lorenz' cover of Michael Jackson's "Rock With You" was well done.

There also were some differences from her opening show at Madison Square Garden. Aside from "The Impossible," she also offered "Honey," the Latin-infused "My All" and one of the night's best, "It's a Wrap." And she surprisingly did not perform "Fantasy," one of her biggest hits and a show staple.

Carey certainly has had her share of ups and downs in a very public life that included her divorce from Columbia Records exec Tommy Mottolla, a well-documented emotional breakdown, the bomb of her movie "Glitter" and a period of dipping success. But she remains on top of the pop world for a variety of reasons: She keeps reinventing herself, she aligns herself with people like Dupri and she remains a stunning beauty.

But the main reason she's still a superstar is that she's way too talented to go away. If she could only amp up her stage presence, Madonna may even have something to worry about.


FAN REVIEWS

Jonny: "For those eager to hear songs from Mariah's back catalogue: Not to worry. She performed a handful of her number ones including 'Honey,' 'My All,' crowd-pleaser 'Always Be My Baby' and 'Emotions,' which hadn't been performed live in ten years. A nice addition to the setlist was a mashup of 1999's 'Heartbreaker' with Diana Ross' 'Love Hangover,' which Mariah had previously performed only once, at 2000's 'VH1 Divas: A Tribute to Diana Ross.' Noticably absent from the set-list were show staples 'Dreamlover,' Fantasy Remix,' 'Vision of Love' and 'I'll Be There.' Props to Mariah for showing some creativity with her setlist and dropping those songs in favor of newer and rarely-performed material. The evening came to a fitting close with 'Hero,' one of Mariah's signature songs and perhaps one of the handful in her catalogue that many of her fans will never tire of hearing. In addition to the music, the Angels Advocate show offers variety in the costumes and the choreography. In the past, Mariah has been known to have as many as eight wardrobe changes in a single show (2003). This time around, she keeps it to a respectable four. Each of them is a beautiful dress; a good move considering that she opened the previous tour in a bikini and a cape. As much as I have enjoyed Mariah's previous shows, I feel that she really stepped it up for this tour. The setlist was a nice selection of hits old and new, with a couple of rarities thrown in for good measure. Although the aforementioned dropped songs are all very important hits in Mariah's carrer, I was pleased to see them go in favor of something different. I would have liked to have seen her perform 'Vision of Love' in place of 'Honey' or 'My All,' since it was the first single of her career and a song that is more associated with her than either of those two. On a personal note, I am hoping that she will bring back 'Close My Eyes,' an album track from 1997's 'Butterfly,' which she did perform last year in Las Vegas. But, as Mariah stated at the Borgata, she has 'written a song or two' in her career. So it's hard to please everyone. But she sure is close to doing so."

Kenneth: "I thought the show was great! From the entrance to the end, she was amazing! She sounded great and sang every song better than the studio. She interacted with the crowd, waving at everyone and moving around the whole stage. I thought the best were We Belong Together, Angels Cry, and Hero. When she did Emotions, the whole crowd went insane! This tour is going to be a good one, whoever goes will definitely have a blast."

Alberto: "Mariah started an hour late but us real lambs are used to this and planned accordingly. I was overwhelmed with emotions when she descended on the swing, she looked stunning! It seems that they lowered her very slowly and she missed her musical cue to start singing but like a total pro, she went into the high note and killed it. Overall, the concert was amazing. The only thing that was bad for us lambs and also for MC (I'm sure) were the stuck up, snobby non-fans crowding the front section. These people did not cheer, stand up, or even clap after she was done with a song. There were pockets of lambs here and there and Mariah quickly noticed them and sort of serenaded them. At one point, MC yelled, 'C'mon ya'll, help me sing this song!' and kept prompting the audience to get up and move, have a good time - they were a dead fish. They were mostly older people. It was a great concert and I will be seeing her again in Florida on the 21st! However, I wish Vision of Love was a part of the setlist! Love you Ms. Carey!"

Matt: "The concert was amazing! She sounded so good! Her whistles were spot on and her belts sounded perfect! And probably the best part of the concert in my opinion is the diva actions! Lol. Some people may hate them but I love them! I also like the setlist - it had a good mix of songs. I like how she sang Love Hangover also! But overall the concert was amazing and I wish I could experience it again!"

KeShawn: "The building is absolutely huge. 3,500 fans sold out the event room to see Mariah, including me and my younger sister. And we had some banging seats - 7th row! And I can say hands down, especially on my side, me, this Brazilian guy, and a white girl two chairs down from my sister and two sitting behind me were the biggest fans in the freaking building! The loudest all night! At 9:05 pm, the lights shut off and the image 'Mariah' went across the front of the arena. I have never yelled so loud before in my life! And coming down from the ceiling on a swing with a white dress on and a fluffy bottom, with her hair down straight, came down in my opinion the most beautiful, talented and best female performer of all time, Mariah Carey. After Touch My Body she talked to us and asked where we were from and yes she saw my sign: 'I've been waiting twenty years to ask, can I have a hug?' And I said, 'Maryland.' She replies, 'Maryland.' I said, 'Yes, Maryland!' She said okay. Conversation! LOL. Following that she went right into H.A.T.E.U. And this was the standout performance of the night. Every whistle is on the one! And the bridge is intense! She exclusively reveals to us that her new Remix album is titled Angels Advocate and told us about Angels Cry featuring Ne-Yo coming soon but those of us who follow MariahDaily know this already LOL. She did my favorite performance of the night, It's a Wrap. To start this one off, a maid comes out and brings her something to drink and Mariah jokes and tells her, See you try to come out here and make people think I have one of these at home.' Hilarious! She is sitting in the chair and in comes her boy stumbling and falling over and is getting tossed around and at the end of the song kicked out of Mariah's home as she coos, 'It's a Wrap.' Loved it! Upon heading into the finale, she shares with us, even though I already know, Billboard announced that the song of the decade was We Belong Together. She then goes in and sings We Belong Together. Amazing! The entire performance had the entire audience saying every single word! This was probably the absolute high point of the show! At the last chorus of Hero, tears began rolling down my eyes. This performance was amazing. As she then kissed us goodbye and good night we all began to exit the show. As we were walking to the doors, I began to drop more tears. That was literally the greatest experience of my life. I love Mariah even more now after that show! 5/5! The show was absolutely amazing from start to finish. I wish she would have performed Vision of Love, Dreamlover, Fantasy and Up Out My Face but she was still amazing. Only other suggestion would be upstep her dance game just a bit, even to the Adventures of Mimi but other than that, Wow. I loved it! The most amazing experience of my life and can't wait to see her again."