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Fan Reviews
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Fan Reviews (Top)
Review by MariahHero.com
We were waiting to see Mariah a young singer opened, audience was already excited. When he ended they played like 4 or 5 hip-hop tracks. But we could hear some musicians preparing for the big night.
Then lights were off, in the screen appeared a cool opening film showing like a trip around the world, we all expected to see Mariah in the stage, but guess what??? she appeared behind the crown and she ran down the stairs singing "Heartbreaker."
The second track was "Dreamlover," where she dances and sings with her full voice. Audience was feeling comfortable and excited at the same time. Mariah introduced her host, the one who looks to paint MC in every part of the show.
Then she introduced "Through The Rain," every time Mariah hit her signature tone audience yielded like crazy!! The song was so emotional, Mariah really felt the song, I could only hear Mariah's voice, in the climax of the song, the theater seemed like a night with shining stars.
Everyone was so emotive, and she introduced the fourth track as "a song from one of her favorite albums ever," I knew she was talking about Butterfly. She song the full-version of My All, my sister was really happy since that is one of her favorite songs. At the end she mixed the original version to the remix version adding the lines "Feel your body, Feel your body." When people started feeling emotive, the remix version and the dancers made them feel happy.
The "Marionette Show" was being played on the big screen, and a clown tied up by some business men, was on the stage. Then Mariah came out with a large dress singing "I should have left in How u doin?" I was really excited and singing along with her. This track was the funny moment of the show.
After her performance of "Clown," the dialogue part of the Honey video was played, everyone was so thrilled, including us. Then Mariah came with her Chinese dress, singing "Honey," which is one of the favorites. In the middle of the song, Mariah dances so sexy along with her dancers, she moves slowly and cool!!!.
A big screen goes down and plays "I Know What You Want" video. Then Mariah sings her part; when she leaves, some dancers continue with the song. Meanwhile, Mariah changes her outfi once again.
Then jazz music started playing and Mariah appeared from the ceiling, until she was upon the piano, singing "Subtle Invitation" from Charmbracelet, she sang amazingly, and sounded even better than in the album, in the climax of the song, Mariah ran in the stage singing with her full voice.
Mariah introduced "My Saving Grace" as her story in a song, she sang it using her full voice too, and in the screen you could see a film with pictures, and images of nice Mariah's moments, we all knew the song, so we were really thrilled, and in the lines "Lord, Thank you" some people reached out their hand to heaven, a very emotive moment.
She surprised me when she introduced her band, it was really awesome, she introduced each one of the band singing, she joked with some of them, then she called Trey Lorenz to sing the Jackson's 5 Favorite 'I'll Be There," where she asked audience to sing with her, obviously we did.
Her performance of Bringin' on the Heartbreak was another great moment, she sang as the whole show, the musicians, the electric guitar, everything, at the end of the song, chorus were singing, and the electric guitar playing, it was just awesome, we all were singing, and feeling the song.
Mariah's next two acts kept the show moving and at the top, she sang Fantasy with a full audience singing along, and Always Be My Baby with her pink short and her t-shirt, at the end some dancers came into the stage with some balls, some lucky fans could get them, unfourtunedly, not me.
Then Mariah asked: "I want to hear who has a dream," and introduced "Make It Happen," singing with a similar version from the Madison Square Garden's performance in 1995, with the lines "Don't let go." everyone was clapping and singing. When it ended Mariah's dancers, said good-bye and left.
Mariah came up the stairs with a large suit, she performed "Vision of Love" while some people started getting close to the stage to see MC a little bit closer. When she finished she said "Thank You, to all my fans who support me in good times and bad times, who are always there for me" Me and my sister were closer while she sang "Hero" everyone was so thrilled and I really felt the song. I was feeling kind of sad, because the concert was almost over, but happy because I enjoyed every moment. When she finished I saw people crying, and some screaming. She went down the stairs and said good bye, while Butterfly was being played. Honey BFly members could stay and wait to see Mariah, some of them were sad because they couldn't.
- AFTER THE SHOW We bought something extra, we talked to some musicians, and some security members, one of them told us that Mariah was going to go outside, the same place where she entered. Me and my sister got there, but there were a lot of fans waiting, the moment was nice with some fans already screaming and calling Mariah, many of them with a tourbook, cd or something to be signed. Like 30 or 40 minutea after our arrival we saw police surronding the place, and then we saw Mariah once again with a short dress, looking as beatiful as always, I though she was going just to walk into her car and say hi, but suddenly, I saw her coming to us. Every body was like thrilled, I saw a guy with his mouth open, she came to us and said hi to us, I was so excited, and I could see Mariah so close and say hi to her. Then she walked to the other side to say hi to the other fans. When she was in her limo I was shocked I could see Mariah so close and she smiled to me; a emotional moment to close a great night.
Review by Cherie
The first thing that comes to mind is the fact that my boyfriend, Chris, and myself spent 3 days putting together pictures for a photo mosaic for shirts that we made at Kinko's. It was very hectic, getting all of them right and correctly aligning them in time for the show. Fortunately, we ended up with a very cool photo collage of Mariah from all eras in the shape of a Butterfly on both of our shirts, and on the back of each was a different pictures. His was a picture taken of her from the 1993 MTV Unplugged concert; Mine was a photo taken from the 1994 Seventeen Magazine shoot, where it's a closeup of her face in her hands.
We had to drive 100 miles to Phoenix, and that's a long way when you love Mariah as much as I do and you have to wait! I saw her in Las Vegas in March of 2000 for the Rainbow tour, but I had less than stellar seats, so in a lot of ways, this was like a first time for me since I managed to get us Orchestra Pit, Row 1 tickets. I had desperately wanted some pictures of Mariah that we took ourselves, at our own show, so my boyfriend and I managed to smuggle his digital camera in my bra. On the way in, a man from a local radio station stopped us and asked if he could take our picture for a feature they were doing on special t shirts fans were wearing to the concert. So we agreed, and we waited for about 5 minutes.
When we went inside the Dodge Theater, it was packed. We both had to use the restroom, and since I came out first, I waited in line for some merchandise. While I was waiting, this nice lady behind me who was there with her friend asked if I had bought the shirt, and I told her we had made it. This turned out to be the first of lots of people asking. The line took like 20-25 minutes, and when I finally got up there, I bought the tourbook for $30, and the black thong that says "M.C." and a has a butterfly all in shiny gold for $15. We made it to our seats, and we had the best seats in the house. Other "lambs" were asking me about the shirts, and that started other conversations about past tour experiences, favorite songs, etc. Very cool to be surrounded by others who love Mariah as much as I do.
The opening act came out, but their name escapes me now. They sounded nice when they were singing instead of shouting raps into the microphone, but in fairness, I was so anxious for the show to get started I wasn't really in any mood to see anyone other than Mariah. Then, of course, as you all know she walks from the back of the arena to the stage while singing "Heartbreaker" in the tiny shiny pink gown. We were the 5th and 6th seats in, from our left and Mariah's right when she was on stage. They made the first 4 people move out of the way so she could go up the little portable stairs that attached to the stage, but they let us stay. The head of security did come over and tell us, however, that we weren't to reach out and try to touch her. If she wanted to, it was fine to reach back; otherwise, she need to get up to the stage. We agreed, and it was really cool to get to see this person I've admired since I was 9 years old about 2 feet away from me. She's beautiful!
She made her way to the stage, and immediately I wanted her attention. I remember someone telling me when I was young that, although I was a huge fan of Mariah, she didn't even know I existed, and wasn't that silly? So, in a way, I suppose it was kind of a mission for me to make sure she knows I exist. And especially how much she means to me, and to all of her fans all over the world. Anyway, she looked at people in the front few rows a few times, but more than anything, it seemed like she was trying to feel out the audience and just kind of get her bearings and get through the first few songs. I was slightly disappointed with "Through The Rain" because, as beautiful as it was, she sang it completely on the opposite side of the stage. But I realize that as an entertainer, you have to make sure EVERYONE is entertained, and in that respect, she's very adept at making everyone in the audience feel like she's singing straight to them. I'm just greedy, I guess.
We had also made her a knit jacket that matched our t shirts, and it had the same butterfly logo on the back, with all the hundreds of pictures of her making it up, only ours said "Mariah" underneath, and here's said "M.C.". Her initials were also monogrammed on the front corner. The questions was- when to give it to her? I felt I should wait until she was kind of bantering with the crowd, as I didn't want to interrupt her concentration while she was trying to sing. But during "Can't Take That Away" (the voted song of the night in Phoenix, obviously), she walked over to our side of the stage and I held it up for her to see. She sort of reached out, so I very tentatively reached toward her and handed it to her. I was surprised when she said "Thank you" in the middle of the song and unfolded it as she continued to sing and walk back over to the other side of the stage. She looked at it and then draped it over the little table that she holds her tissues and glass on, and the it remained there for the entire rest of the show, with the butterfly we had made completely visible. We couldn't have been more thrilled!
Now, it may be my imagination, but after this happened, it seemed to me that she made a point of making eye contact with me when she would come over to our side of the stage each time, smiling and waving. She's a very charismatic and beautiful person, and you can't help but feel like the most special person in the whole theater when she directs her attention toward you. The only negative part of the show, in my opinion, was her security.
I realize that they have a job to do. They were hired by her management to make sure that no one is doing anything that they shouldn't be doing, and making sure that Mariah is safe. I completely understand that. They're a lot more rude than is necessary, though. My boyfriend tried to take a picture of me handing Mariah the jacket, and the security guard came over and told him no pictures. After the song was over, he came over again and said, "Put the camera in her purse," meaning mine. So he did. Then a little later, I wanted my dad to hear a little part of one of the songs, so I went to call him, and he came over and said I had to turn the phone off in a really rude and abrasive way, after having shown the flashlight on me when the lights were down. After the phone incident, another security guard brought a chair over and sat down in front of us for the whole rest of the show, leering at me and giving me dirty looks. He couldn't ruin the time I had, though. It was a dream come true.
When Mariah sang "Always Be My Baby", her dancers came out and started throwing beach balls around to the audience. They're huge, multi colored, and they say "Mariah Carey Charmbracelet World Tour 2003" on them. The first dancer directed a ball right at me, but the girl to the left of my boyfriend knocked it out my hand and it went flying up behind us. The same dancer threw another one to me, and the guy next to me did the same thing as the girl. Finally, a second dancer came over and directed it at me. Only this time, I was more determined to not let the guy next to me knock it out of my hand than I was to get it, so I threw it back to the dancer. He threw it back to me, and I threw it back to him. Not really throw, but like hit. Finally, he got it right to me, and I grabbed it, and then the guy next to me tried to grab it, too. I held it tighter, and it was ours. And it was totally worth it.
After that, Mariah sang Make it Happen, and she asked if anyone was reaching for a dream, and I held the ball up and she smiled. I put it down again, though, because once again, I was making security angry. So, she sang Make it Happen, and during this time she came over to our side of the stage again, and I was smiling and singing along, and I got my boyfriend to turn around in time to show her his shirt in the back, the picture from Unplugged, and she smiled and gestured like, "Oh, how sweet..." and then I turned around and showed her mine, and she also seemed to really like that one, too. After all of this, when she sang the last song, "Hero," she walked along the front of the stage and reached out to touch hands. I think she might have touched about 5 in total, and mine was one of them. It was an awesome experience all the way around, and I was very thrilled.
After the show, a girl from the middle of the theater came over and told me she was glad that I got the ball and congratulated me, because she said it was so obvious the dancers were trying to get one to me. Then another nice lady and her friend, who had made his own shirt AND shorts with Mariah pictures all over them, came over and asked me if we made the jacket we handed her during the show. I said yes, that it matched our shirts, and she admired them and said how nice they were. We talked to the attendant who worked there, and asked me how I had liked the show. And I told her I was excited Mariah had accepted our gift and that I hope she'll take the time to look at the pictures and read the note that was included, she said "Oh, that was you?" I was so proud.
On the way out, I decided to switch my shoes. I had insisted that I was going to wear some sexy, high, platform type high heels with about a 5" Lucite heel, and they were basically killing me. So, I had stopped and put on a pair of flip flops I had brought in my purse cause my feet were killing me, and as I was sitting there I saw Lionel Cole, Mariah's keyboard player and the man who co-wrote "Through The Rain" jump off the stage. So I said, "Hey- Mr. Cole!" And he turned around, and I said, "Great show," and he walked over and patted me on the shoulder and smiled and said "Thanks."
It was a very cool night, and I will send some pictures of the shirts and patterns and all that if you want them. I recommend this concert to anyone who might be considering going and maybe doesn't necessarily know if they have the money for it or whatever. You don't have to have the best seats or even the ability to go backstage- I didn't go backstage because I didn't order my tickets through Honey-B-Fly, or else I would never have gotten such great seats. Go to the show, wear sexy shoes, bring a sensible pair in your bag. Take a camera in your bra- don't get caught using it. Above all, just stand back and marvel at the most extraordinary voice ever to come out of a human being. The talent of Miss Mariah Carey.
Review by Robert
WOW!...where do I begin?. I guess can start by saying that Mariah was FREAKIN AWESOME!!. We got to the Dodge Theater around 7pm and since there was no fan gathering that I could find so we went to find our seats. Row 26 was ALOT CLOSER than I thought!!!*FAINTS*!!..sometimes I saw Mariah better WITHOUT the binoculars =0. Anyways the opening act was some kid named J. Roman who I never heard of but he was ok. The Dodge Theater was practically SOLD OUT and I could hardly sit still until the lights went dark and then a video montage played for a while and then ...BOOM!...Heartbreaker Remix music played and Mariah CAME THROUGH THE AUDIENCE{though not through my isle :( }, in her usual red sequiny vegas girl outfit. I nearly went nuts trying to find her and FREAKED OUT when I part of her hair moving through the crowd LMFAO.
I couldn't believe how beautiful she was!!OMG. She sung "Dreamlover" and "Through The Rain" in that outfit and although she struggled a bit in some places, she sounded wonderful over all.She also sang "My All" and he voice was REALLY STRONG and it was cool to hear the dance remix at the end as well. The Phoenix crowd was lively but not obnoxious which made the experience really nice. Next she came out in that beautiful gold/glittery gown and sang both "Clown"(speaking of which there was a guy there with a shirt that said "Shady productions" which i think was Eminem related...) and "Cant Take That Away"..I liked the part where she fell to her knees at the end..which was staged but nevertheless genuine, and totally blew me away.. Then next, I think she sang Honey in which I was jammin and I didnt care if other people were lookin at me :)..I did the "poses" in the middle of the song a lil LOL...and pointed back at Mariah when it was the "honey got me hooked on youuuuuu" when she points to the audience at the end.
"I Know What You Want" I think was next and her dance moves were sooo cute when she was doing them with the other girls and she of course wore the outfit from the video.
But the show got more exciting when she sang Subtle Invitiation(she was lowered from the ceiling in a white curtain thingy)and My Saving Grace. She wore a strapless white dress and it was funny when she had to adjust it cause she was like "that's the trouble with these strapless ones" LOL. I was in awe during a certain part of My Saving Grace when she sort of extened both her hands out to the audience, you could really feel how much she was giving herself to the audience and to the performance. The band intro was the one the best parts of the show....Mariah just exemplified what a true artist is by introducing her band members by singing their names and vocally matching each of their solos which basically climbed a virtual Mt Everest of octaves :).
But the funniest part was when Mariah introduced her backup singers, Tika was awesome, so was Tatum tots!(Mary Ann)...and Trey did his lil Big Nasty thing of course LOL...but when it came time for Sherrie's turn...it was about how she caught her man lookin at other women....and Mariah sang "he likes to look at skinny heiffeers" which made me laugh really hard cause I love that word LOL. Mariah and Trey sung "I'll Be There" after that and the chemistry they had was really evident and carried into the audience...I honestly could not believe I was hearing the song I'd seen on the MTV Unplugged special live in concert!.
At this point I think this was when M went backstage to change and let Trey and the backup singers do their thing. Trey's "Friend Of Mine" is a good song and he sounded wonderful on it. But it was such an experience when Tika, Sherrie, and Mary Anne did their own free-style solos!...OMG they were SO AMAZING!!! ...Mary Anne can blow like nobodys business!. I was blown away and had never(besides Mariah and a select few) heard live vocals like that in my life! OUTSTANDING!!!
I think she sang Vision of Love next...by this time she was in a cream colored feathery gown and needless to say...she handled it like a pro. She hit the most AMAZING high note at the end of it and the crowd went WILD. It was like hearing the old mariah pretty much. I think the nails in the ceiling were coming apart during that high note LOL. During "Make It Happen", "Always Be My Baby", and "Fantasy ODB remix". she wore cute Pink short and pig tails and tank top. "Make it Happen" got the crowd going and I was proudly singing along with the "don't let go....don't ever ever let go" bridge.For "Always Be My Baby" she said "this song is for all my Honey B. Fly's out there!" which I thought was really nice along with signing along with the bridge.
"Bringing On The Heartbreak" was of course AMAZING but it was a lil too loud for my ears by that time LOL and Mariah of course looked stunning in the red dress from the video. And the backup singers did these cute lil "headbangin" dance moves at the climax :)
"Make It Happen" was actually the "finale" of the show but of course Mariah came out and graced with her presence once again and began to sing "Hero". I was able to hold back tears for most of the show but at this point they started to fall as I was reminded of what I was going thru at that present time. She was absolutely a god send singing that song and her vocals rivaled the origional with fury. All in all it was the most unforgetable night of my life and it seemed to be so for many others as we watched Mariah shine with a renewed sense of herself as if saying "i'm back and here to stay"
Journalist Reviews (Top)
Review by Theresa Cano (Arizona Central)
Carey delivers top-notch performance
The past two years may have been shaky ones for Mariah Carey but in front of a packed Dodge Theatre Saturday night, the sultry diva was nothing short of solid.
Surrounded by dancers and a circle of beefy bodyguards, Carey hit a confident stride as she walked down one of the theater’s aisles to take the stage. The noise level from her adoring, supportive fans was deafening throughout the night.
Despite a lavish stage production which included nine dancers, video snippets, oversized lounge chairs, eight costume changes, circus props and city street scene, the show never failed to showcase Carey’s famous five-octave voice first and foremost. The pop princess sounded like her hit making self of the ‘90s as she wrapped herself around one self-motivating ballad after the other.
Carey’s voice was in top-notch form throughout the 100-minute plus performance. While the setlist included a healthy number of tracks from her new album, Charmbracelet, she didn’t disappoint fans who wanted to hear her hits. ‘Dreamlover,’ ‘My All,’ ‘Make It Happen’ and ‘Heartbreaker,’ were just some of the songs that had the crowd singing along to every word.
One thing that was undeniable about the show was the dedication and love that Carey’s fans have for the artist. The audience ranged from toddlers to seniors, but Carey’s most passionate fan base seemed to be those in their early twenties to early thirties. Many in the crowd could hardly contain their excitement long before the show began and once it did, their level of enthusiasm was off the charts.
While Carey had the crowd grooving to her dance friendly hits like “Honey” and the infectious “Fantasy,” it was on the ballads where she really seemed to connect with the crowd. She sang one self-empowering song after the other with the sincerity of someone who really lived and believed in the words she was singing.
‘Can’t Take That Away,’ moved Carey to fall to her knees as she sang the song’s personal lyrics. On ‘Subtle Invitation,’ she was lowered from the ceiling on a white silken swing and gently placed atop a grand piano.
Carey’s banter seemed mostly staged, but she seemed genuinely sincere as she showered the crowd with ‘thank you’s’ and ‘I love you too’s.’ It was evident that she is aware of the fact that while she took a beating in the media during her trials and tribulations of the past two years, her fans never failed to support the beauty with the big voice.
Carey seemed to relish in the intimacy of the smaller venue. She would get a shocked look on her face when the audience would roar in approval as she sang. Mariah flashed her million dollar smile and waved continually to her adoring following.
Mariah’s four back up singers were phenomenal, especially the charismatic and uber-talented Trey Lorenz. Just as he did 11 years before on “MTV Unplugged,” Lorenz joined Carey during a stunning rendition of ‘I’ll Be There.'
Carey tapped into the emotional soul of Def Leppard’s power ballad, ‘Bringing On The Heartbreak,’ and unleashed an achingly beautiful version of the song.
Finishing out the night with ‘Hero,’ Carey stood confidently and belted out the song, which reinforces the ideas of loving and believing in yourself. While it may be a personal anthem to many of those who were in attendance Saturday night, it seemed as though the song’s theme has hit home for no one more so than its singer herself.
Meet & Greet Reviews (Top)
Review by Lydia Romero
Last night the concert was absolutely amazing! I attended the Vegas show on July 26th and the LA show on the 18th, but seeing Mariah for the first time in my hometown (Phoenix ) was incredible. We arrived at 5pm to meet up with other fans and I was surprised and happy to see a crowd waiting for MC to arrive.
My little sister Denise and I were in pit 2 row 3 and my other sister was in pit 2 row 1. As soon as wee took our seats we made friends with the other fans and told them our experiences from the other shows. We also let them know that we're going to stand the whole show and we expected them to also.
Seeing Mariah look into our eyes while we're singing along with her was incredible. I think her voice sounded more amazing last night than it did at the other 2 shows. I was so happy with the Phoenix fans. They were enthusiastic and standing constantly. I even caught a beach ball during Always be my Baby, which was one of my goals for the night : )
My mom and Grandmother also attending the concert and said it was the best they've everbeen to. They've become fans because we play Mariah constantly in our house.After the show was over I was sad because that would be the last concert of the Charmbracelet Tour that I would be attending; yet, excited because I was going to meet Mariah backstage.
While waiting to meet MC, I met some very dedicated fans including Marisa, who made the Phoenix Fan Bracelet. After about an hour munching on snacks and talking about the concert we were put into two groups and made our way backstage. As we walked in the room we each shook Mariah's hand and talked to her for a bit. The first thing I said was, "Mariah, luv the ensemble" and she said, "Thank you, I like your ensemble. I saw you while I was onstage." It made me so happy that she liked the shirt I made.
While she talked to my sister she also said she saw her singing along. We took a quick photo and then proceeded to get one autograph. My sisters and told Mariah a little about us and how she's inspired and helped us as we've grown. She was incredibly gracious and sincere as she spoke to us, looking each of us in the eyes. After we received our autographs, Michael Richardson asked that we step out of the room. It was hard to leave but as we walked out we told Mariah we loved her and she said, "I love you too". She then asked, "who's marker is this?" and my sister who forgot about it went back and got it and asked for a hug. Mariah gave her a big hug and we exited the building.
Outside Dodge Theatre there were tons of fans waiting for MC to exit so they could catch a glimpse of her. When Mariah walked out she went straight to the fans that were standing behind the barricades and signed for them.
That just shows you what a great person she is. Many other artists don't even take the time to sign for their fans and Mariah who just spent an hour and a half performing took the time to sign. She even signed for fans sitting in the 1st row while she was singing during the concert.
Last night was amazing and made my summer complete. I've been an MC fan since I was 11. I'm 23 now and until this summer I had never met her before and in a month span I was able to see her 3 times. Thank you Monarc, Rob, Mark, and the magnificent Mariah for giving me this amazing opportunity.
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