Mariah 'Nails' Her Long Island Comeback
By Roger Friedman, Fox 411, September 5, 2006

Yes, we went to see Mariah Carey perform at Jones Beach on Sunday night - it was her local-girl-makes-good show, you know. Mariah is a proud Long Islander (and so are we, in part, so we can identify).

The Jones Beach Amphitheater is an outdoor venue, but that didn't stop Miss Mariah from wearing what was basically a black peignoir set for the first few numbers. Yes, this is lingerie, but it showed off her very toned body. The difference between Mariah and Madonna: yoga. Mariah doesn't do it, Madonna does. Take your pick.

Even when she's hoarse or losing her voice, Mariah still sings like a bird and performs vocal tricks that no one should attempt at home. There's no augmentation - what she has at the moment is what the audience gets, and even with the wind blowing and her midriff bared, Carey managed triple lutzes and some gorgeous notes that were right on target. It's fascinating to watch her try and miss them, too, because her mistakes are often more interesting than her accomplishments.

Sunday night's show was also very much about Mariah's personality - a little eccentric, kind of loopy and happily goofy. She'd changed the entire set list from her previous shows and didn't know which song was next. Some of it seemed like a surprise, even to her. This was kind of a welcome relief from all the pre-packaged performances of late (hello, Justin!).

She brought out Trey Lorenz for the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There" and a medley of some other hits, including "One Sweet Day." Mariah's original hits, "Vision of Love" and "Dreamlover," are still best, and the worst ones - things like "Honey" - remain insurmountable heaps of hip-hop junk that really serve more as filler than anything else.

Certainly, all of that late Sony/Tommy Mottola stuff is far inferior to the material from her recent mega hit "The Emancipation of Mimi" album. And that's thanks to producer/musical chief Randy Jackson, who doesn't get enough credit for pulling Mariah out of that rut.

Funny moments: Carey's long riff about not getting her nails done in time for the show, and telling her local pastor - who performs in the gospel number "Fly Like a Bird" - that she won't be wearing the revealing dress from the show when she sees him next in church. The whole thing works: She's a diva who doesn't take herself too seriously. Mariah is the anti-Madonna, which only means there has to be a Madonna somewhere out there in this universe to balance her out. And that's OK, too.