The Mariah Carey songbook is thick with butterflies, rainbows and kisses that taste like honey -- not much doom and gloom. So when the pop icon visited DAR Constitution Hall on Wednesday, you'd never know she was limping through the darkest hours of her 20-year music career.
Carey is currently touring in support of September's "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," one of the lowest-selling albums in her platinum-spangled discography. The disc isn't horrendous. Its failure merely illustrates how the wretched economy can transform yesterday's invincible uber-star into today's music-biz casualty. Wednesday's modest Constitution Hall environs were also a considerable step down from the much-larger Verizon Center, where Carey made her last Washington appearance in 2006. And this gig didn't even sell out.
Cleverly then, the singer kick-started her 90-minute set with "Shake It Off," a strutting 2005 kiss-off that felt both cocky and carefree.
Delivered in the breathy coo that's become her trademark in recent years, Carey used her voice to quickly establish a casual intimacy with the audience, as if she were whispering the song's verses in the crowd's collective ear.
The audience replied with shouts, and screams of "I love you Mariah!!!" that not only got the singer's attention, but a smile and a finger wave, too.
Perhaps she was waving just to flaunt the blinding stones that adorned her fingers. Diamonds covered almost all of Carey's accouterments: her microphone, her microphone stand, her shoes, even the earpiece she wore so she could hear her backing band as they chipped away on an elevated platform behind her.
It wasn't always so easy to hear Carey, however. On her less acrobatic vocal runs, the singer's words got lost amid the haze of the backing tracks, the voices of her backup singers and the cavernous acoustics that threaten to turn every show at Constitution Hall into sonic miso soup.
This didn't bode well for the relatively staid selections off "Memoirs," but somehow, Carey imbued those stiff tunes with a fresh zeal. Album filler "It's a Wrap" suddenly felt almost as dynamic and spry as "Heartbreaker" or "Honey," the two bona fide hits that preceded it.
Mercifully, Carey went easy on the ballads, slipping into a robe and parking herself in a seat for "My All." The song pushed the singer through almost every strata of her register and after its big finish, she was carried offstage in the arms of a dancer who appeared about two-thirds her size. Turns out, he was whisking Carey away for her third and final costume change of the night. (For those keeping count: four gowns in all, each one impossibly sparkly.)
Reversing the one-two punch she delivered at Verizon in 2006, Carey closed the set with the unimpeachable "We Belong Together" and encored with the power ballad "Hero."
Excited fans rushed the aisles with their camera phones, angling for the closest shot they could get. Carey's black, sequined dress became a disco ball, reflecting hundreds of camera flashes back into the crowd as she hit the song's sentimental crescendo.
The superstar waved good night and feet began shuffling to the exits.
"Did you see how close I was?" one aisle-crashing teen asked her friend, positively beaming. Glee that genuinely makes the crumbling of the American music industry seem like a wonderful thing.
The legendary songstress Mariah Carey gave a somewhat spirited performance last night during her 90-minute show at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington.
At times, Carey was magical. She showed off the incredible vocal range that has made her arguably one of the top female vocalists of her time.
She also displayed a noticeably heftier figure that she squeezed for dear life into unflattering outfits. (At one point, when she descended from the rafters on a swing wearing a sparkly champagne-colored gown, she looked sort of like a sausage wrapped in ruffles and rhinestones.)
Although Carey emerged at about 8:30 p.m. and ended the show about 10 p.m., her actual performance time was much shorter.
If you count the outfit changes, the stage breaks she took to sip champagne and the ultra tacky onstage makeup touch-up, Carey only performed for about an hour...
"I know. I know. It's diva behavior," she said to the audience.
She wasn't joking.
It was truly unfortunate for fans who paid as much as $149 a ticket to watch Carey rhythmlessly wobble from one side of the stage to the other.
Carey only sang about a dozen songs. (It seemed like more Michael Jackson songs were played during her concert than her own material.) Absent were "Vision of Love," "Emotions" and "One Sweet Day."
A dozen or so songs for an artist starting out is understandable. But for Carey, who has 20 years of solid material -- "We Belong Together" was recently named song of the decade by Billboard -- it is completely unforgivable. Shame on you, Mariah. Shame.
Carey was golden when she performed hits like "Shake It Off" and "It's Like That" from 2005's "Emancipation of Mimi" and "Touch My Body" from 2008's E=MC². They were all crowd pleasers.
On more than one occasion, Carey attempted to show off her whistle register (when she hits those really, really high notes). When Carey began a song with the whistle register, like she did with "It's A Wrap," she was golden.Sadly, Carey had a tendency to lose that note when the music blared in the background -- especially at the end of a song.
Toss in a couple more songs -- the crowd pleaser "Always Be My Baby," "My All" from "Honey" and "Obsessed," as well as some background dancers and that was it, folks.
Overall, it was a disappointment. We all know that Carey can sing the phonebook. We know that she has an arsenal of hits. And we all know that she is capable of bringing down the house. I just wish that she would have put all of these weapons together for a concert that didn't cut corners.
Fan Photos/Reviews/Videos: Angels Advocate in DC
Posted by Lynn on Thursday, 28-Jan-2010, 5:49PM EST
FAN PHOTOS [ Thanks to Kimy, Monique, Jacob, Jackie, Jeff, Char, Keyhonna & Joseph! ]
FAN REVIEWS
Kimy: "We had the pleasure of seeing Mariah front row and center at DAR Constitution Hall! The venue holds about 3,500 people and by the start of the show it was filled with screaming fans. The crowd was hyped up and lively from the get go. The local radio station had their own booth and people were singing Mariah karaoke songs before the show - so fun! Mariah descended from a swing to start the show and from that point on, we were on our feet for the entire show. She sounded fantastic, she belted out every note like it was her first. She sang a mix of old school and new school. We came dressed in Mariah inspired T-shirts and Mariah gave a shout out to my friend Monique who was wearing an 'Eternally 12' t-shirt. She laughed and pointed at her saying 'I'm loving her shirt, it says Eternally 12. Do any of you guys know what Eternally 12 is? You know what, that's between us!' My personal favorite song was It's a Wrap - after giving a long spiel about how everyone goes through this type of situation, she sang it with so much emotion. Speaking of Emotion, I was so sad she didn't sing Emotions! We were looking forward to hearing it since she hasn't performed it in ages. Nick Cannon and Stephen Hill were in the audience. Stephen Hill was on his feet the entire show dancing and singing, Mariah gave him a shout out and threw in some air kisses and waves to him throughout the show. After the show, we waited out back to see if we could catch her getting onto her tour bus. There were quite a few lambs gathered in the cold waiting for her to exit. We spotted Rae Rae, Blair, Sherry, Larry and all the dancers getting to the bus. Rae Rae and Sherry were so sweet and stopped to pose for pics with fans. Mariah and Nick finally came out - she stopped for a few seconds to pose for pictures and then got on the bus. Mariah still knows how to put on a fun show and we look forward to seeing her in concert again."
Monique: "Last night, I had the pleasure of not only being front row at the DC concert, but also being a MDJ Correspondent. While waiting in line, we actually met some Mariah fans who took a picture with us when they found out we were MDJ Correspondents for the night. It was my own personal diva moment. Overall the concert was amazing. The crowd was not as hyped as I expected them to be, most people sat down during the entire concert but that didn't bother me at all because I stood enough for everyone. She sang her heart out and eventually won the whole crowd over. It's A Wrap, It's Like That, and Always Be My Baby were definitely the biggest crowd pleasers. Best moment of the night: When Mariah personally called me out for wearing my 'Eternally 12' shirt. I saw her look at my shirt and laugh mid-song but I wasn't sure if she was laughing at me. When the song ended, she looked directly at me and said: 'I'm loving her shirt, it says Eternally 12' and laughed. Then she asked the crowd 'Do you know what Eternally 12 is?' No one responded. Then she looks dead at me again and says, 'That's a secret between the both of us then' and winked and smiled. After that, she made eye contact with Kimy and I the entire concert! Overall, it was the best experience of my life and as expected, I'm now an even bigger fan than I was before... if that's possible!"
Tommy: "The concert was so amazing! The venue was perfect - there wasn't a bad seat in the house. My friends and I originally had seats with an obstructed view, but someone who worked at the venue moved us to Orchestra seats (score). Mariah showed up just about at 8:30pm as expected and didn't miss a beat throughout the whole concert. You know how sometimes you get nervous when people sing live - well that was gone by the 2nd or 3rd song - you just know she's going to hit everything! She sang really crowd friendly songs, and a few favorites like Subtle Invitiation. During 'The Impossible' she had a male dancer come on stage - it was practically a strip show. But nobody minded :) The President of BET (which is based in DC) was in attendance and received a shout out. I love that all these people were so into Mariah while the State of the Union speech was going on a few blocks away - and I don't think many people even thought about it. This was clearly the place to be! This is the 4th time I've seen her and it gets better every time."
Jeff: "Wow! Where do I begin with this phenomenal night I will never forget? Thank you so much Keyhonna for the front row seat! You will forever go down in lamb history! The show started with Rydaznartist, they were just OK for me, it was more entertainment for the ladies, but they were good! Mariah came out around 9pm and the place went nuts! Being in front row, I have never received so much attention from a celeb, everytime she came to our side, I got a wave, smile, and even joyful laughs as we sang along to all the hits of the lady herself! My favorite part was when she sang Fly Like a Bird, she really soared to the heavens that night; also We Belong Together was top notch! So after the show, I met up with Kimy, who I had met eight years ago backsage at the Charmbracelet show in 2003, it was cool to see her again! Then we hauled butt out to the busses to wait to see if we could catch a glimpse of MCC leaving. Well I guess being a lamb of 15 years paid off, Raychel came out and said hi to us and took Keyhonna's Memoirs CD and my tourbook back inside for M to sign! I did not even expect that, especially for it to be personally signed! Sherry also came out and signed my tourbook, it was nice to see her! Then at around 11pm, M came out with Nick. She is so beautiful! She posed for pictures and boarded the bus! This was the best concert experience ever for me! Thank you Mariah, Sherry, Raychel, Keyhonna again! This is an experience I will never forget!"
Jacob: "My girlfriend and I went to she show in DC last night and had an amazing time. Our seats were in row L, so we were expecting about 12th row. Little did we know, the stage took up rows A-G, so we were in the 4th row! That completely made up for the ticket price. I have seen her once before, on the Adventures Tour in Sacramento, and this venue was so much smaller than Arco Arena, it really made for an intimate experience. Anyway, I was worried around 7:30 when there weren't that many people in the audience. The opening act started maybe ten minutes later. I'm pretty sure they lip-synced their way through almost their entire set. On their last song all of a sudden Nick Cannon was standing in front of the stage filming them. Then he turned around and filmed us. That was pretty funny. To be honest, RydazNRtist was somewhat lame. I wouldn't say they exactly got the crowd hyped--I think everyone was just excited to see Mariah anyway. Mariah only kept us waiting about a half an hour after the opener so that was nice. I think by the third song the place was about 80-85% full. Definitely not a sell out, but a nice big crowd. The show ran pretty much like the rest of the shows on this tour have, except with Always Be My Baby in place of Emotions. I was really hoping to hear Emotions because I've never witnessed it live, but oh well, I love Always Be My Baby and she killed it. Her vocals are really in great shape right now. There was no particular highlight for me during the show. The whole thing was really cohesive and just a great experience. If you can go, make sure you go to this tour. It is too good to pass up. Don't judge it on TAOM, it's a totally different experience. The security was really tight on cameras the whole time in my section. Before the show a manager lady came out and said that it was the artist's request that people in my section not take any pictures. I did notice people taking pictures in the balcony without being scolded, so if you have tickets not in the first few rows, you might be in luck. I was able to sneak a few pictures during the show, but security backed off during the encore so I was able to record all of Hero."
Jackie (VA Beach): "I attended the show in DC last night. I was surprised at how prompt Mariah was considering we always hear how she's running late. She looked and sounded amazing. Her interaction with the audience was great! She has a great sense of humor and referring to her 'splashes of champagne' kept everyone laughing. My only disappointment is the set list seemed to go by so fast, and instead of 'Subtle Invitation' or 'It's a Wrap' I would have liked to have heard 'H.A.T.E.U.' I was hoping for 'Emotions' and 'Vision of Love' - but other than that - the show was awesome. The crowd was hyped and you would have thought by the sounds of the crowd that there were 20,000 people, not 3700! I give it an A- just due to the short setlist."
Keyhonna: My night in DC started badly when the DAR wouldn't let me bring in signs or flowers for MC! I was crushed but Mimi never disappoints a lamb! Thanks to HBF I was front and center and enjoying the show with the coolest lamb ever Jeff! In MC gear from head to toe and glow sticks galore, I was able to give her cousin a card I had gotten for her. Mariah sang amazing as usual but I will tell you cameras and airbrush, Photo Shop whatever you call it does Mimi no justice. She is the most naturally beautiful woman I have ever seen! Her words inspired us all through the night. I was sad the show was so short and she didn't sing Emotions but never the less she kill't it! I got a wave and an 'I Love You' and I held up my Obsessed shirt and 'Mariah shoes' and got a beautiful smile from MC! Ahh the most amazing night ever! After the show I rushed outside to get my flowers I had hidden praying they were still where I left them as they were and I was determined to see MC! I've seen Rae Rae and I went crazy she is so beautiful. I told her that they wouldn't let me give MC her flowers and she took care of the rest. Rachel is da best! Then she even took my CD and had MC sign it! OMG greatness! All the lambs outside waiting for MC chatting and enjoy the DC air. Then lo and behold the queen was coming, the queen of #1's that is. She was flawless as always and with Nick as she posed for pics and waived. Then I even got Sherry's autograph as well. Wow! 2 autographs and Mimi got my card and flowers! This was the most amazing night of my life! I will never forget this! Thank you Mariah for all you do & HBF. LYM."
Char: "The show in DC was awesome! I've never seen Mariah in a smaller venue like Constitituion Hall, and I think she was able to shine more in such an intimate and personal theater venue like it, and really connect with the audience. I loved the set list because it gave people a little bit of everything. I lost it when she did 'Subtle Invitation,' that's one of those hidden Mariah gems no one really got into, and you could tell as she sang it not too many people in the audience sang along, but those that did were clearly the real fans. I think she sounded her purest vocally when she sang 'Always Be My Baby' just like it was 1995 all over again LOL. For me that was my favorite part as she noticed me singing and pointing back to her and myself at the end adlibs ('you and I will always be') and she did the same thing back to me--I wanted to die! The only bad thing about this show, as expected from being there before for some other high profile artists' shows, is that Constitution Hall is so lame when it comes to shows like this. No cameras, no signs... made it impossible to get the real fan experience unlike when she came to Verizon Center for the Adventures of Mimi Tour in 2006. I was in the 2nd row and the moment Mariah came down from the sky and I took out my camera, security immediately scolded me and a few others in our row as well as front row. It became a pain attempting to sneak a pic, so I was over that idea by about the 3rd song for the sake of trying to enjoy myself. It was only until the end when she did the 'Hero' encore that they let people do what they wanted camera/picture wise and I got one or two good pics for memories. Other than that, the show was totally worth it!"
Joseph: "I just want to start off saying that this Mariah concert experience has been the best ever! I was in the 3rd row from the stage. Had a good view of Nick filming his group while they performed. Just as normal I was excited! I sang along to every song Mariah sang. I waved to Mariah a few times, she waived back at me and smiled a few times. This made me forever love her more. Mariah sounded perfect! The show was a non stop thrill! From the dancers, aerialists, singers, band and Mariah's beautiful voice! They all gave us what we all came for. Mariah seemed more comfortable on stage this tour around! After the concert, I really wanted to meet Mariah. So we waited around, my cousin and I. We stood by the tour bus with all the other Mariah fans. Sherry came out and gave me a hug and took a picture with me. Then Rachel gave me a hug and took a picture with me too! Such nice people. Hopefully one day I could be on that team. Mariah came out with Nick. We all wanted her to stop and sign, hug, whatever. It was really cold in DC last night. So Rob gathered all of our tour books, albums, whatever Mariah could sign and took them on the tour bus. Then came Rachel with all the autographed items. Thank you Mariah! It was almost a dream come true. Well, my dream is 75% almost coming true. It will finally come true when I hug Mariah and have a conversation! That's my dying wish! Been a fan since I was like 9 years old, will be 30 in May! Again, this has been the best concert experience ever. Thank you all!"
FAN VIDEOS
HERO (Jacob)
MY ALL (Nahad)
IT'S A WRAP (Nahad)
WE BELONG TOGETHER (Jackie)
Source: Kimy | Monique | Jacob | Jackie | Jeff | Nahad | Keyhonna | Char | Joseph
Live Updates: Angels Advocate in Washington, DC
Posted by Lynn on Wednesday, 27-Jan-2010, 7:30PM EST
Mariah performs tonight at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC. Our MDJ tour correspondents Kimy and Monique are there to provide us with live updates, as they happen!
Setlist: 01. Butterfly Intro/Daydream Interlude 02. Shake It Off 03. Touch My Body 04. Fly Like a Bird 05. Make It Happen 06. Angels Cry 07. Subtle Invitation 08. It's Like That 09. The Impossible 10. Love Hangover/Heartbreaker 11. Honey 12. It's A Wrap 13. My All 14. Always Be My Baby 15. Obsessed 16. We Belong Together 17. Hero
Tidbits: • 07:39pm - Michael Jackson songs are being played right now. People are getting to their seats. No opening act yet. • 07:46pm - Opening act RydaznRtist hits the stage. Crowd is going nuts. Everyone is hyped for Mariah! • Nick Cannon is in the house, video taping. • 08:20pm - RydaznRtist finished after 15 minutes. Listening to Michael Jackson jams while waiting for Mariah to come out on stage. • 08:35pm - "Butterfly Intro/Daydream Interlude." Mariah wearing a sparkly gold dress. • 08:47pm - "Make It Happen" interlude. Mariah goes back stage. Dancers dancing. • 08:51pm - Mariah's back wearing a long flowing gold dress. Finishing up "Make It Happen." Audience is going crazy clapping with her! • 08:53pm - Mariah is talking now. "My husband is here tonight." She says he surprised her with a nice basket today. Gives a shout out to Stephen Hill of BET who is sitting front row. • 08:54pm - "Angels Cry" now. Dedicates the song to people in Haiti. • 08:59pm - Just said DC was festive. "I need my hair and make-up people to come out because I will have a completely different look." Directing her makeup people. She is now having a splash of champagne on an armchair. She says, "This time it's a splash of champagne." "Subtle Invitation" now. • 09:05pm - Now performs "It's Like That." • 09:09pm - Takes another 'sip' and says it's water. Gives a shout out to Monique (MDJ tour correspondent) - her shirt says "Eternally 12." "The Impossible" now. • 09:14pm - Introduces Trey Lorenz to the tune of "The Impossible." They greet a couple celebrating their 26th wedding anniversary tonight. • 09:15pm - Trey Lorenz sings "Rock With You." • 09:26pm - "Honey" now. She asks, "Do you remember this video? When I was swimming in heels?" • 09:36pm - Just wrapped up "It's A Wrap." "This is from the Butterfly album." "My All" starts. She's sitting on a chair in a robe during the song (photo #8 below). • 09:45pm - "I just wanted to give you this one from the old school. Anyone remember this?' "Always Be My Baby" now. Mariah is in a black sequin dress (see photo #10). • 09:49pm - "'This song was made for all those who have been stalked." "Obsessed" now. • 09:53pm - Performs Song of the Decade, "We Belong Together." • 09:57pm - "Thank you so much DC! I love you!" Exits stage to "We Belong Together" Remix. • 09:58pm - Back for "Hero." Crowd going wild! • 10:02pm - Show ends.
Photos:
Many thanks to Kimy and Monique for the amazing updates tonight!
If you were in tonight's show, we would love to receive your reviews; and pictures, audio and video recordings to share with everyone. Please send to contact@mariahjournal.com.
Jonny (previously covered Atlantic City, NJ and both the Mashantucket, CT shows), Cory and Randy will give us live updates from the Wang Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts on Saturday, January 30th. See you then!
Source: MariahDailyJournal | Kimy | Monique
Reminder: Live Updates from DC Tonight!
Posted by Lynn on Wednesday, 27-Jan-2010, 4:34PM EST
Mariah will be performing at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, DC TONIGHT at 7:30pm EST; and our MDJ tour correspondents Kimy and Monique will be there to provide us with live updates during the show. Please join us!
Source: MariahDailyJournal
THE ANGELS ADVOCATE TOUR
Welcome to MariahDailyJournal's "The Angels Advocate Tour" section! Get all your information, photos, and reviews here. We welcome your show experiences, reviews, audio & video files, posters and photos from the shows to share with everyone! Please e-mail us at contact@mariahjournal.com.
