Alicia Keys Concert: a review
08 October 2004 2:38 pm
Missing from the crowd that attended Alicia Keys's one-night only concert in Singapore, held in Suntec Hall last night, were hysterical teen fans whom I had expected to elbow and glare at if they were to step on my toe, or try to inch their way into my spot, or scream in my ear. But it was a Thursday night; not just a school night, but smack in the middle of the exam period for the kids. So most of the concert-goers were working adults, university students and a significant number of expatriates.
I had the privilege of sitting in front of a group of three bitches, Teen1, Teen 2 and Teens' (Possibly Divorced) Mom. They spent the 15 minutes before the concert began taking apart anyone who had the misfortune of catching their attention. Loudly and in Malay, too, almost for my benefit. "Ooh, look that girl! What an ugly dress!" "Eww, did you see that girl with the white guy? Pretending she's not Malay? She's sooo Malay." What an appetising aural starter before the main course.
The concert was simple and classy. There was a backdrop of the piano keys that were featured on her new album cover, her 4-member band, and 3 back-up singers, each of whom could record their own albums and earn millions themselves, given a lucky break. Then there was her. In white pants, white hat and a turqoise jacket, which she later took off, revealing a sexy halter-neck. No costume changes, no pyrotechnics. Just 2 hours of soulful, breathtaking performances.
She is, as far as I could tell from where I was, gorgeous. Deliciously curvy, and I've always loved her long signature braids. I had an unblocked view of her and she was not a pinprick in the distance as I had feared, but about six inches in size, so I guess we got pretty good seats. When she sang, I was blown away. What a voice. So powerful. One of my favourite parts in the concert was her How Come You Don't Call Me/Never Felt This Way/Butterflyz/Goodbye medley. I felt my heart tug at Goodbye. There was a time when that song meant something to me. I was also moved when she did If I Ain't Got You. That was her most soulful performance of the evening, in my opinion. And everyone went wild when she sang Fallin'. I wasn't really into her more up-tempo songs, but they were pretty cool, gave her the chance to shake her ass a bit on stage. Oh, she can definitely move. :-)
As a concert virgin, I was expecting a wild event with people on their feet waving their hands and screaming all the time. The Singapore audience seemed to like their seats a tad too much. There were times when I felt I should be standing, but I sat because every other fool around me was on their butts. To be fair, though, I also realised that it is Alicia herself and her music that sometimes made for the audience's indecision (to stand or not to stand). Her up-tempo songs are not exactly danceable, and when she did the ballads, she sang so beautifully and so inimitably that we were just mesmerised and silenced. Unlike some other singer's concerts I've seen on TV, where the crowd sometimes sings along with the singer, joining in at the chorus, with Alicia you become painfully aware that what comes out of your mouth is a croak compared to what pours out of her throat and stirs your soul. So for me, the best way to appreciate her was to be quiet and to listen intently.
Lest you think Singaporeans are uptight and can't be spontaneous to save our own lives, I will end off by saying we were all standing and screaming and clapping towards the end. Alicia came out for three encore performances. I had a fabulous, fabulous time. I just wish I could have met her so I could shake her hand and tell her how amazing she is.
This was one concert you should not have missed.
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