By ScottKessinger:
All day I had been hearing people sing, or at least try to. There was some sort of BBQ picnic deal going on at work and a small band had set up and were performing songs. The singers weren't always on pitch but they gave it their all and I appreciated their efforts.
When I arrived at the front of the US Airways Center before Mariah's concert, one of the radio station kiosks had a karaoke machine set up and offered certificates for free ice cream and cake to participants (I'll admit I joined in, 'cause who can refuse free ice cream?), and the karaoke-ers had a rough time with the high notes but remained spirited and joyful.
Once inside, Busta Rhymes took stage in an energetic opening number that got the audience on their feet and their hands in the air. Obviously Busta's a rapper, not a singer (his turn in the chorus for "I Know What You Want" withstanding) but his shouts, hollers and "hoo-has" showcased his crazed style to the crowd {It should be noted that maybe Busta should keep in mind that MC still attracts both ends of the age spectrum; an older couple in front of me seemed polite but uncomfortable at some of his schtick-- and I wonder why he bothered to censor "I Love My Bitch" when he had already talked about "washing genitals" and rubbing oil up to someones's "asscrack" LOL}. Oh and on a random note, Busta is even bigger and taller in person than you might expect.
And of course, after all the anticipation, Mariah herself rose from the floor, beats blazing, dancers flailing and wind blowing through her hair and cape. Her body was tanned, toned, and let's face it, certainly in better shape than almost anybody else in the arena. All of that was window dressing though, for the vocal wonder she unleashed.
Now I didn't bring up those prior examples simply because I wanted to compare how Mariah sounds great when compared to mediocre voices-- that would be a disservice to all parties involved. But it simply underscores just how rare and valuable Mariah's talent is. Her tone was inescapably pure, her pitch mind-bogglingly perfect, singing in a seemingly impossible register-- and this was before she had even begun belting! And even the occasional rasp would only serve to confirm that yes, this sound is coming from a human voice and not through a machine or a crafted, fine-tuned instrument. Seriously, scientists need to put her in a lab and study how she is possible. Her voice is an absolute sonic marvel. I had mentioned before that her voice sounded higher than usual. Whether this was from a change in her singing, arena acoustics, sound system settings, or 'purple' is anyone's guess, but I actually liked the effect it had-- it made her sound that much more super-human.
Mariah's stage presence was on point, no doubt helped by a thunderous, roaring, near-capacity crowd (I don't believe it quite sold out, but I was hard-pressed to find any empty seats). She seemed poised, comfortable, and confident going from number to number and making small talk with the audience, who weren't even bothered when Mariah claimed to not have been to Phoenix before (she performed here on the CB tour ).
Midway through, she let Trey Lorenz go through his piece. As intermissions go, you could do much worse, and Trey is a nice guy and it's incredibly gracious of Mariah to let him have his own set (not to mention that they still work great together on duets). I will say though, that when he's on solo there's a definite sense of "Yeah, that's nice, when's Mariah coming back again?"
Not sure what other specifics there are to go into, the setlist is pretty much unchanged and most of the antics are pretty much what happened at other shows as well. But let me say this: if you're a fan and haven't seen Mariah in person before, you owe it to yourself to do so. I know that's an ironic statement now that the tour is wrapping up, but if there's any opportunity at all in the future, definitely go for it. It's like watching Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali-- somebody blessed with an uncanny gift doing what they do best.
Oh, and if I could be non-seriously mean to just a couple people (lol):
- Ladies, I appreciate your attempts to "dress to kill," but let's just say that not everybody can pull off the Mariah look. I swear passers-by would have thought the US Airways Center was hosting a prostitution convention...
-To the two gay black guys that were blasting "Mine Again" out of their white convertible and trying to sing along with it while making their way out of the parking structure: Who sings that song again? Mariah Carey? OK, let's try to keep it that way!
By Elvis:
My name is Elvis Rivera and I am originally from Denver, CO. I flew to Phoenix to visit friends and, of course, attend the Mariah Carey concert. This was my 4th time seeing her, and was special as you'll find out. Please read the entire thing, because this is one story you'll want to share!! I promise!
The concert itself was spectacular. The energy from the crowd in anticipation of Mariah was off the charts. I was lucky enough to be in the first row on the side of the stage, no more than 20 feet away. So, I could see everything. The beginning of the concert when the music started instantly drew the crowd to their feet, and when the curtain was drawn there was pure energetic-magic. You could feel and even see the power of Mariah's music lift everyone from their seats. 90% of the audience stood the entire time, and gave Mariah the respect she so deserves and directs. There was no question; this was going to be an Adventure of Mimi.
Mariah was on fire taking us full force from the very first song. As she carefully, but powerfully walked down the staircase, every eye was on her in her spectacularly defined ensemble. The second that Mariah started to dance, the crowd exploded into applause and sheer awe of Mariah doing her thang.
Mariah never let up, and made the concert much more fan friendly than any other concert I've ever been to. Mariah not only sang her songs, but engaged the audience, and allowed the audience to be a part of the show. It was nice seeing someone who you could find a connection with, because she was honest and heartfelt in her words and actions. After seeing that concert, it was evident Mariah is the kind of woman you could find something in common with, and sit down with, have a drink, and have the best conversation about anything and everything. Down to earth doesn't come close to the describing Mariah. We're talking life long friends here.
Mariah made the concert even more fun when she sang some of her remixed songs like "Thank God I found You/Make It Last", and had the audience sing it with her. Only the true die-hard Mariah fans really know the remixes, and I was loud and proud singing along with Miss Mariah.
The audience was even more energized when Mariah took the b-stage. This made the audience that much more a part of the concert, and it seemed like Mariah was right in her element. The closer she gets to her fans the more dynamic she performs. Mariah finished her set there, and glided back to the main stage. This is where she sang "One Sweet Day", but before she did that she had the lights in the house turned up, because she noticed a sign asking her to dedicate the song to the person's brother who had passed. Mariah took the time, stopped the show, found the guy, and dedicated the song to them both. Now that is CLASS! IMPORTANT PART!!
It was at this point that Mariah was about to sing "Hero", and gave some background on the song. She also dedicated the song to anyone and everyone who's ever had tragedy in their life, and who has ever struggled. IT was then that I began to cry.
In 1993 I was part of the fan club, and received a letter inviting us to the taping of her first NBC Thanksgiving TV special. My mom who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1989 was almost to the point of being terminally ill at the time. I told her about the invite, and we asked the doctors if she could fly out to Schenectady, NY. They flat out told her NO, and if she went she probably wouldn't come back alive. I was disappointed, but understood.
Having been my mom's primary caretaker for the last 3 years of her life, I understood. There were times in elementary and junior high school that I would miss class to drive my mom to her chemo, radiation, and dr.appointments. My mom depended on me for so long, so I knew she couldn't go. My mom also had a cathedor attached to her chest for chemo, morphine, and her home treatments which I administered. (I was 15 at the time)
My mom turned to me when we got home, and said "mijo, we're going to NY. I don't care what the doctors say. And I want no arguments from you." So, off we went. The first night of the concert was incredible. I walked up to the background singers when an unknown, then, Kelly Price took the time out to talk to me. I told her our situation, she got all of the singer's autographs for us, and said to wait after the concert in the back, and she would try to get Mariah to meet us. We waited for a while, and ended up missing our bus back to the hotel, but Kelly did come back and apologized she couldn't bring Mariah back due to press obligations. Kelly was so very nice, and made us feel extremely honored when she took the time, and kept her promise about coming back.
The next night we went back to the taping, and this is where our lives changed. I had snuck in to Proctor's Theatre, it was a strip mall with stores, and managed to get inside. I saw Mariah on stage rehearsing, and then she walked off the stage. At that point someone asked me what I was doing there, and at that moment Mariah was walking by, and I yell out "Mariah, my mom would love to meet you! I'd love to meet you! Please this lady is going to take me away." Mariah stops and says extremely nice and thoughtfully, "Go find out what your job is, and come back when you're done. I'll be here." I say, "I don't work here, please, this lady is going to take me away!"
Mariah grabs my hand, walks me down the stairs, and asks, "Where's your mom at?" "Outside on a table kinda sleeping," I said. Mariah replies, "You should probably go and get her. I'll be right here waiting." I run out to grab my mom who is out cold from the morphine. I'm yelling "Mom, get up, we're going to meet Mariah." My mom, without missing a beat gets up, we grab our stuff, and go back to meet Mariah. I, so surreally, say "Mom, this is Mariah Carey. Mariah this is my mom-Angie." Mariah shakes her hand, and we talk for about 20-25 minutes. In the middle of the conversation my mom, in her morphine haze, says, "He likes your shoes." Mariah, without wondering where that came from says, "Which ones?" I explain to her how I saw that her wedding shoes cost $2,500 in some article I had read, and my mom was remembering it at that point because of the morphine.
Mariah, without missing a beat, says, "Oh, if you like that article, People is having a 50 best weddings, and I'll be in it. You should definitely pick that one up." I thought it was incredible that she never once freaked out, or made it obvious how out of it my mom was.
Mariah had been ignoring all her people around her trying to get her to finish what she was originally doing. Finally, she says, "I have to go finish shooting the video for "Hero". I'm sorry to cut it short, but it was an honor meeting you, and I hope you enjoy the concert. I ask for a hug and a kiss, and Mariah happily obliged. She also gave my mom a hug and a kiss, and it was all so surreal.
We watched the concert that night, and it was even more special, because of meeting Mariah. That was June/July of 1993. We flew back home, and my mom's health became very grave. It was August 20, 1993, 8 days before high school started, and my mom passed away. This was very difficult for me, because I was away from my mom when she actually passed. I finally made it home, and found the paramedics trying to revive my mom. I had the most difficult thing I've ever had to do in my life. I had to stop the paramedics from reviving my mom, because she was a DNR (do not resuscitate). Having spent so much time with mom, we talked about what she wanted. She was in pain, and wanted to go. So, I stopped them.
I was destroyed from the whole thing. I spun out of control, and began drinking and partying, because I didn't care. High school was a nightmare for me. It wasn't until November when the Mariah Carey concert finally aired on Thanksgiving. I watched the entire thing, and was eased, calmed, happy remembering the amazing time we had at the concert and meeting Mariah.
You could see me sporadically through the concert, as I was in the front right up on the stage. BUT THEN.Mariah is about to sing "Make It Happen", and shen sits on the edge of the stage, then the camera pans the audience on the floor, and I couldn't believe what I had seen. My mom! She was the only person standing up and dancing to the song. I broke down crying, and cried for hours.
My life had spun out of control, but in that moment, Mariah had given me something back that I thought I lost; MYSELF and my MOM. Mariah SAVED MY LIFE with that gift that I will have for the rest of my life. I couldn't believe how much of a miracle it was that we met Mariah a month before my mom died, and then my mom was forever captured doing what she enjoyed best, living life, loving her son, and sending me a message from heaven.
That was why I cried the entire end of Mariah's concert in Phoenix. From Hero, to We Belong Together, Mariah had completely expressed what I felt and needed to hear at that moment and always. This was, by far, Mariah's best concert ever, and no one else's would compare, because of the connection we had so long ago.
Thank you for reading this entire thing and I hope my story can be shared, because I know it would help a lot of people. I know it would also mean a lot to Mariah to know that she saved someone's life without ever knowing she did.
|
A concert at the American West Arena in Phoenix was scheduled for Mariah's Charmbracelet Tour in 2003. Due to the downgrading of the tour to intimate theaters, the concert was re-scheduled and was held at the Dodge Theatre.
