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Review by Matt
For me, Mariah's tour stop in Cleveland was the first time ever seeing her in concert, in person and it was AMAZING! I had heard the last time she was in Cleveland was 1992, and I'm not sure if she had been here anytime after that, but it was definitely worth the wait! I enjoyed myself so much at her concert! I have followed her since the beginning in 1990. She has been my inspiration and notion to be a singer since I first heard "Vision of Love" on the radio, driving home from school with my mom way back then. Every song and album she does I have loved! There hasn't been one that haven't loved! And I think the best thing about this show was that she sang songs from all of her albums! I absolutely love "Charmbracelet" and she sang some of my favorites from that album, including "My Saving Grace", "Bringin' On the Heartbreak", and "Subtle Invitation" to name a few. She performed a lot of chart-toppers and many of her beautiful ballads and I really enjoy (like "Hero", "Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme)", and "Through the Rain") And so many up-tempo songs that kept the mood of her concert light and fun! (Like "Fantasy", "Dreamlover", "Make It Happen", and "I Know What You Want"). Totalling 18 songs all together, Mariah performed for 2 hours, nonstop, and it was INCREDIBLE!

Seeing Mariah in concert has clinched my aspirations even more and my admiration for her! She is such an amazing performer! Her show was definitely not short of the high notes she is known for and I couldn't have been happier about that! I love it when she hits those notes! They are so powerful and add that much more depth and fluctuation to the songs! I love it! The dancers, constumes, sets, and lighting were so colorful and imaginative and really added to the performances. And backup singers...THEY ARE AMAZING as well! They did a fabulous job and are so talented!

I've been to a couple concerts before, but this one was, by far, the best and my favorite of them all! I don't it could ever be topped by anyone (except maybe by and Mariah concert! Ha!)! I didn't want the night to end, but it eventually had to, but I enjoyed myself so much it's undescribable! Thanks to Mariah for being out there and sharing her gifts with the world! It has certainly made a difference! And hurry back to Cleveland...we love ya and miss ya over here! Thanks again for the amazing concert! I'm hoping one day to be singing up there, too!

Review by Michele
My name is Michele and I got the opportunity to sit 14th row at the Scene Pavillion in Cleveland, which was more like 5th row because it's a pretty small complex, and let me tell ya, what a show!

The whole show took on a circus theme, and Mariah started off in "Mariah fashion", looking completely diva-licious in her pink sequined microdress. She sang "Heartbreaker" remix and rocked the house! She seemed very comfortable and simply devoted to satisfying her audience. The stage was small, and Mariah let us know that she wasn't used to the performances outside, but she was "liking the nice breeze" and asked how we were doing. The feeling in the air was definitely total connection and vibe with our favorite diva, and we were feeling nothing but love for her. There aren't even enough words to describe her performance, because it was more than incredible, more than even amazing, and far beyond what I expected. We all danced to our favorite songs, and she sang every one of them with a flawless talent only belonging to the one and only Mariah Carey. There's no one like her, and there never will be. She made us all feel at home.

Trey Lorenz, her partner from 1992's "I'll Be There" joined her in the duet during the concert. They have such a tremendous presence when the two of them sing together. You can absolutely tell they are the greatest of friends. Her background singers later joined him during a "filler" during "Friend of Mine" and the applause went through the roof. She also then came out and joined her singers with "Make It Happen" and once again, the applause thundered and we were knocked out by the incredible voices on the stage. I wonder if anyone caught on during "Clown" when the dancer who acts as the clown had on the "Detroit" jersey? That gave me quite a laugh. (For those of you who don't know who she is referring to, I'm sure you can figure it out if you think for a few.) After that Mariah let us know that the show was all about "having a good time" and "fun and games" and she giggled in the all too well-known Mariah way. This is just one of the many reasons we love her, right? "Yes indeedy!"

She later sang "My Saving Grace" and "Bringin' on the Heartbreak", along with many more of her well-known number one chart toppers. She completely rocked out with the Def Leppard remake, and touched our hearts with her spiritual life memoir. Her humility and appreciation echoes through the melodic threads of her voice. It's safe to say Mariah has it all.

I could not have asked for a better moment in my life than being able to share in this experience. During the encore, she walked out wearing a beautiful white sequined low cut gown that was hung above her knees in the front and the back was covered in beautiful feathers to the ground. It was her eighth ensemble change, and no one could do it the way she does. She took it all home with "Vision of Love" and "Hero", bringing tears of joy to my eyes as I thanked God for the opportunity to see my inspiration in the flesh. I secretly thanked Mariah inside for making me feel like she was singing to only me. I think it is easy to say that everyone felt that way. It's just the way Mariah makes you feel. She creates a unique connection that flows straight to your heart and you feel like you've had a friend in her your whole life. I've waited twelve years to see her, and it was well worth the wait. She has bounced back, she's better than ever and she has the world by the tail and she isn't afraid to show it! I can't wait for her to come back to Cleveland!

Don't miss your opportunity to see this show!!!!

Review by Jacob
I live in Michigan, so Cleveland is about a 4 hour drive for me, and because of this we decided to go the day before the concert and get a feel for the city. The first day we searched for Mariah and had no luck. Sunday (the day of the concert) we hung out at the Scene Pavilion, and listened to the sound check and hoped to get a glimpse of Mariah or at least someone. Finally a really nice guy from Mariah's crew (he was a technical tour guy) told us that Mariah was staying at the Ritz Carlton and that she won't be coming to the concert until the last minute so our best bet would to be to go there. So we headed there (it's about 5 minutes max) and got there about 5pm. We waited and they put on barriers for us to stand behind (this got me really excited) and after about an hour I saw TREY! I was like hey Trey and screamed his name and he came over to me and I took my picture with him and we chatted for about 10 minutes. He's a REALLY cool guy. After about another hour we saw the Tatum sisters, her other back-up singers, all her dancers, her main body guard.

Finally we started getting anxious so we asked this really mean looking guy what was up and if Mariah was actually going to come out (this is because we were told BY NUMEROUS people that she had already left) and he was like "I don't know" and he smiled and he said "She might just be in there, and she might she be coming out about a half hour before the show, but I don't know anything" and he had this nice little smirk on his face. So we waited some more. Finally 8pm came around and the concert was supposed to start and we are sitting here waiting for Mariah at the Ritz.

But around 9:20 (4 hours and 20 minutes later :) ), about 6 body guards come out, and in a red kimono robe there she is. SHE IS SO GORGEOUS! I mean I always knew she was pretty, but when she walked out she was glowing, it was almost like she didn't belong because she was that beautiful. She gave us a quick wave and she was off. WE RAN TO OUR CAR! Got in and floored it to the concert. As we were running to the venue I had to make a quick hault because I almost got hit by Mariah's limo! I waved and I continued to run. I got in and all of a sudden Heartbreaker started playing. There was Mariah, three feet from me, never looking so beautiful, and she went on stage. I ran up to the stage and was there for about 30 seconds before getting booted back to my seats, which were much better than I had expected. Her voice was incredible, I think it was in much better shape than the Rainbow tour (which was awesome too!)

She wasn't as talkative at the concert as she had been when I saw her three years ago in Atlanta, but she was super nice. SHE'S SO SKINNY! It was crazy. The set-list was the same as Vegas and Chicago so I won't go over that, but the definite best performace in my opinion was "Bringin' on the Heartbreak." It was just incredible and she really got into it. The second best was "My Saving Grace." I mean she belted that baby out, oh my god. She made the CD version sound weak. It was phenomenal! Her costume changes were quick and frequent, but fun and exciting. Trey and the back-up singers did awesome! The dancers were awesome, but for some reason Mariah really didn't get into her "Honey" dance like she normally does, I guess she just wasn't in a dancing mood. But she was just amazing and I continue to be in awe. And I can't emphasize this enough, but she has to be the best-looking, naturally beautiful person on this entire earth. Finally after she finished the show with her trademark ballads, she quickly left the stage. I bought some merchandise and waited over where her limo was. The Scene people were really rude and continuously tried to make us leave, but the nice cop told them to calm down and that it's not a big deal that we wait. About an hour, maybe a little more, after the concert her limo came, she rolled down the window, and those sparkling eyes and flawless face looked at all of us and she waved with a huge smile on her face. Mariah again further proved to me that she's no doubt the best vocalist and performer ever, and I just love her.

Review by Barbara
Everything before and after the concert was bad. Getting to the concert was horrible. It took 5hrs (it should've only taken about 3 1/2) because we got lost, the rain was horrible and we almost got in 3 car accidents because the rain was so bad! After we got to Cleveland we attempted to meet up at the Ritz Carlton to chill out with the other HBF lambs, but I guess that was off, so we just looked around the mall. Then we left around 6:30 to go to the Scene and that's when I realized that I forgot the tickets at home!! Needless to say, I was a complete and total mess. Well, we ended up geting our tickets and backstage passes anyway.

So we got in the venue, spent tons of money on merchandise, found our seats, watched Mariah's people come and build the steps to the stage for her (making sure to bring out her diamond incrusted shoes for perfect measurments), then we suffered through the opening act and waited for Mariah. After a long time she came out and everyone just seemed surreal to me.

I couldn't believe that I was finally seeing Mariah Carey...and seeing her only a few feet away (since my seats were DEAD CENTER row6!!!). The show was awesome. Words can't describe it. Everything was perfect. Well, her voice did crack during one song and she struggled for a minute but quickly belted out the note fine. (I think she needed "a little more tea, a little more tea"! ;-) ...)

I got a little emotional during My All but after that I was just in a state of awe the whole time trying to take in the reality of it all. BOTH was flat out amazing! .... The Marionette show had me cracking up! .... And oh, Through the Rain... WOW. How can someone just sit there in a chair all comfortable and BELT OUT notes like that! I sware that's unhuman!

I had my "Mariah Moment" during the concert. She was getting ready to introduce Cant Take That Away, she was telling everyone about HBF and how we got to pick a specific song for her to sing and then we all started yelling and she said thanks for representing *by wearing our shirts* and she pointed to me and was like "You're lookin good darlin' " and I pointed back and was like "You're looking better!" Needless to say, the night left me in complete and total bliss. She's outrageous! We need to come up with a word to describe her!

After the concert we started our ride home and ALMOST made it off the Ohio Turnpike without getting a ticket. But right before my exit I got a $110 ticket! It was horrible, but I guess it saved my life since I was falling asleep behind the wheel anyway so that was deffinately a wake up for me. So everything before and after was horrible, but the show made it all worth while!

Review by Robbie
We got to Cleveland around 4pm. The city is empty since it's Sunday, and we're not sure if we're in the right place yet, and as we get out of the car, we can hear the backup singers and the band singing "Hero." Basically, us calm 23 year-olds had a lamb moment and started sprinting down to the river, but by the time we got there it was over.

Ok, then we realized we were on the wrong side of the river (by the way, the setting was gorgeous and the weather was perfect... no harsh sun and a perfect breeze). We ate right next to the venue and could hear the band sound checks while eating.

We basically couldn't believe what was going to happen. Anyway, fast forward a couple hours, and we get to the venue. We walk in, and then have another "OMG" moment when we see how tiny the venue is. Then we get to our seats, and they were SO CLOSE. Row 1 started only two feet from the stage, so we were very, very close in row 6. The chairs were very small and so were the aisles. The venue was very intimate and the behind the stage was the cityscape... very cool setting.

So as we are sitting there not believing our eyes, I look over and see an old friend from high school in the row in front of me. I havn't seen her in six years, and I didn't realize she was a Mariah fan too. Anyway, so we waited till about 9PM, and then here's where we get to the show.

The opening act was a comedian who's been on ComicView. A half-Korean guy, and he asked if there were any Asians in the house and me and one other person raised their hand. LOL... he was pretty funny.

Moving along, all the waiting really made the event build up. The crowd was very close together and VERY wild. We waited another 30 or so minutes after he was done and then the people in the upper stands started screaming. Here's where the lamb attack occurs. We were screaming as she approached the stage, but we couldn't see her... then she got to the stage and was so close, we both started tearing up (but not full-out crying)... I'm sure those who have seen her that close for the 1st time know the feeling, it's indescribable. Both of us didn't expect that kind of reaction, but we couldn't help it.

We were so shocked, in awe, and emotional that both of us can't remember anything about heartbreaker. Mariah was so close that we could see the whites of her eyes. And boy, is she gorgeous... flawless skin, and much smaller/skinnier in person. Mariah wore bone-straight hair tonight, half of it was tied back, and then she had long bangs parted down the middle. Very cute.

So basically, the show itself is amazing from start to finish. Our venue was her first outdoor US date, so she talked about that a little bit, and that's why she couldn't do the swing because it was windy so they rolled her out on the piano instead of lowering her onto it. We also didn't get curtains, and could see her running backstage when the lights went down.

We are so impressed with the quality of the show, we loved every minute. Even Trey Lorenz's part nobody got out of their seats! They did a cool improv part that everyone loved and they practically got a standing ovation. Unfortunately I can't remember the band intro part because of a bad incident.

Basically, we had these trashy 50-year olds behind us, and in front of us to the side were these people who refused to sit down through THE ENTIRE SHOW. the old people started yelling at them, and it got so bad that they were shreiking at each other WHILE MARIAH WAS SINGING A BALLAD. I was so pissed that I started screaming at all of them to shut up, and so did other people. It got so bad that the old lady ripped the mariah bandana off the girls head! urgh!

And one more stinky moment: I took a picture for this very short young girl who came by herself, and the venue people tried to kick me out. Luckily it was just the last half of her last performance, and it was probaby the weaker song on the setlist (Hero). grrr, but it's only a small portion of the night. Overall, I'm amazed and Scene Pavilions rude staff can't get in the way of my night. It really pissed me off because dozens of camera flashes were going off as I was walking out.

Some other brief points:
-Vocals: The speakers were so loud that it was hard to really listen to the details of the voice... From where we were sitting, even the lipped parts did not LOOK nor SOUND lipped, even Fantasy. She did the "hide-behind-the-hand" thing once the whole show. She sounded great and coulda fooled me.

-Always Be My Baby: Ok, Mariah changed up the melody both verses DRASTICALLY. It was amazing, and I've never, ever heard her sing that song like that, and because of that, I can't remember the new melody anymore. I was shocked she changed it so much.

-Dancers: Very cool! Looked great, but I was so close I was looking at mariah the whole time.

-Mariah's adlibs: she did so many, and all so good.

-Voted song: Can't Take That Away.

The Band: Amazing, they really sounded great.

-Not many kids or children at the event, not even pre-teens. It was mostly adults 18 and over.

-The end of the setlist: basically, starting from 3 songs before the first encore nobody sat down for the rest of the night. I think it went something like ABMB, Fantasy, and Make It Happen. Wow, what a strong way to end the show. I had so much fun dancing along for those 3 songs, especially Make It Happen at the end.

Well, there's so much to comment on, but it was all amazing. They better film this for a DVD, it is such a nice show, and if they do, i hope they don't cut out the subtle nuances that added to the show (band intros, extended intro's and outros for songs like BOTH, etc). Well worth my money and then some. I still can't believe it actually happened.

Review by Michael
My father and I arrived at about 7:30 and found our seats. About an hour later, a comedian came out and was not funny at all. Then we waited around some more and at 9:30 Mariah finally came out. I had end seats and she entered through the back of the pavilion and walked right next to me. I wanted to touch her hand, but the bodyguard pushed my hand away.

She started with Heartbreaker and the HB remix. She was in a short pink dress. She did Dreamlover, Through The Rain, and My All. During the remix of My All, she went backstage to change. She then came out in a long gold dress and sang Clown, with the Marionette Show intro and Can't Take That Away. That was the most voted song in our city, I guess, but I think she's doing that at every show in the US.

For Honey, she came out in a short blue dress that had pink flowers on it. Then she went backstage and changed into the outfit that she wears in the I Know What You Want video and sang a little part of that. The video played before and after her part. She changed again into a white strapless gown (I think it was white or lavender) and was brought out on the piano.

She did Subtle Invitation and explained that they had to wing things tonight because she usually flies down on ropes but it was too windy for that. This is also her first concert outside. She explained that My Saving Grace is her anthem, and sang it. She introduced the band, singing their names. One of the back up singers, I think her name is Sherry Tatum, was having guy problems.

Then Mariah introduced Trey and they sang I'll Be There. She ran off the stage again and Trey sang Friend of Mine with the other backup singers. She came out in a red dress and sang Bringin' On The Heartbreak. She changed again into a pink blouse and short pink shorts and did Fantasy and Always Be My Baby. When she had finished Fantasy the stage went black as she exchanged her headset for a handheld microphone. It was obvious that she lip-synched this song, but I knew that already.

Before Always Be My Baby, she signed someone's program who had a sign that said it was their birthday. She wanted to bring them (not sure if it was a guy or girl) up on stage, but the bodyguards wouldn't let her. After Always Be My Baby, she did Make It Happen and Don't Let Go remix. Then she said goodnight. A lot of people got up to leave. Finally she came back on in a long sequined gown and did Vision of Love. She did Hero, and some of Butterfly, then she left the stage to go to her bus, which I happened to see as I was leaving (the bus, not her)

Overall, I think it was an amazing concert. I wish she would have done Emotions and Someday too, but I still enjoyed it. I think she changed too many times, and it was absurd how she only wore that I Know What You Want outfit for a minute and then changed again. I think the comedian sucked and I hope she does not have him on her tour after this show. However, I do have to admit that he made a few funny jokes.

Bringin' On The Heartbreak is probably the highlight of the show, if you see it. Some people walked off during Trey's performance and missed the beginning of it. I think it was incredible. I think you will have a good time, especially if you get to meet her, which I didn't. I'm ashamed to admit that I'm not in the fan club. Anyways, I hope this a helpful review to all lambs.

Review by Malcolm X Abram (Beacon Journal)
Mariah Carey proves that she's still got it
Trademark high notes and familiar ballads work like a charm on loyal fans at Scene.
Many things, good and bad have been said about R&B/pop diva Mariah Carey, but no one can say she's not driven.

After a rough patch that included very public breakups, breakdowns, a $29 million severance check and a movie so bad that it's not even good kitsch, the 33-year-old singer is working hard to claw her way back to the top and hit the road for the first time in several years.

Sunday night she brought her Charmbracelet tour to Scene Pavilion, where her rabid fan base welcomed her back with open arms and wallets. (Floor seats were $75 and there was a lengthy line to snap up $38 T-shirts and even $15 black thongs.)

The tour, promoting her eighth full- length album, Charmbracelet, hasn't been without problems. When ticket sales proved initially sluggish Carey revamped the tour, moving it from arenas to smaller ``intimate'' venues, and appealing directly to fans by offering them the chance to pick the set list.

The Jersey Girl and best-selling female singer of the '90s made a grand entrance by coming through the audience, bringin' fans to their feet, where they stayed for most of the night.

Carey made sure fans had plenty to look at throughout an elaborately staged show that included as many as 11 dancers, numerous set changes and Carey's own constantly revolving wardrobe. Even her four backup singers got ample opportunity to show their talents. The crowd ate it up.

She quieted any doubts about her voice early on during the opener Heartbreaker by hitting a string of those glass-breaking high notes for which she is famous.

The set list leaned heavily on her trademark ballads, and the crowd cheered every scale-climbing vocal ad-lib in songs including Through the Rain, Can't Take That Away (Mariah's Theme) and a misguided take of Def Leppard's classic power ballad Bringin' On The Heartbreak.

Though many of Carey's songs are bland, her voice is able to lift the material, and her fans probably wouldn't care if she sang nursery rhymes for two hours. On her hip-hop flavored tunes, including current hit I Know What You Want featuring video of rappers Busta Rhymes and Rah Digga, Carey seemed more like an afterthought. She strolled through to sing the hook and strolled off again to change outfits.

Carey's career may have peaked in the last decade, but like Madonna -- another driven pop icon -- she won't be going away anytime soon, and her fans wouldn't have it any other way.