Mariah's miracle
By T'cha Dunlevy, The Gazette, August 16, 2006

Any diva worth her salt will make you wait. While she didn't overdo it, Mariah Carey proved she's still got a little royalty complex, taking the stage at 9:30 last night, 45 minutes after her scheduled start time of 8:45.

It was nothing, really - a minor delay. But with her history of melodrama, and given that, 16 years into her career, she was playing her first Montreal show, there was anticipation in the air.

"Life is like a roller coaster," she said, in a pre-concert video, after the lights went down. "Everyone has to face their fears. Like a roller coaster, there are ups and downs, ins and outs. And when the scariest part is over. Suddenly everything stops, and there is a moment of peace."

She was relatively at peace last night, before an excited crowd of 13,000 - no small feat for a superstar who, just a few years ago, was suffering a credibility crisis of epic proportions.

Last year's The Emancipation of Mimi was Carey's comeback album. And this was her comeback tour. From the beginning, there was a mild cringe factor.

She came out to the club-bumping sounds of It's Like That, wasting no time in baring her notoriously full figure. Clad in black lingerie, kinda covered by a sheer black gown, she slinked about the stage with a calculated step to match her tentative coo.

She broke the spell mid-song with a warm, "What's up, Montreal?," then belted out an ad lib. It was the first of several (but not too-too many) displays of her trademark power and range.

Whether Carey is no longer able or no longer willing to unleash the full force of her five-octave range is open to debate. Regardless, it was a mature Mariah who held court last night.

Playing songs from throughout her career - while noticeably omitting her 2001 collapse, Glitter, and its quick-release, apologetic 2002 followup Charmbracelet - she emerged with her dignity intact.

This, despite a near "wardrobe malfunction" midway through the night. She had made her way through the crowd to sing her Ol' Dirty Bastard-assisted hit Fantasy, from a dancefloor-size stage at the back of the room.

After no more than two minutes, she walked right back off, and backstage, apologizing over the P.A.

"This is called winging it," she said when she re-emerged. "The twins didn't want to stay where they were supposed to."

Though it interrupted one of her biggest songs, it was a welcome bit of spontaneity. As fun and efficient as the show was until that point, it did feel a bit like Carey was walking on eggs.

But she was doing fine. On the strategically balanced set list were 1999's Heartbreaker, with video cameos by Missy Elliott and Jay-Z; the big ballad My All, from 1997's Butterfly; the smoothed out groove Shake It Off (in front of a huge, lit up MIMI backdrop); and her early career hit Vision of Love.

Throughout, she kept herself in check, unleashing a rebel wail now and then, but for the most part, playing it cool, and coy. Her fans loved every minute, and she loved them back.

"This is the best audience I've ever had," she said, with passable conviction.

Dancehall reggae posterboy Sean Paul opened up with a rousing set of party anthems. Flanked by energetic, scantily clad dancers of his own, he got the crowd more excited than most opening acts can dream of.