Singer Michael Bublé gave a 21-song salute to pop music Saturday night at the Sprint Center, performing songs from the Great American Songbook to his own pop-music hits.
Shortly after taking the stage about 9 p.m., the entertainer with a burnished tenor voice let the sold-out arena know that this was not going to be a concert; this was going to be a party. He delivered on that promise with humorous asides.
He opened with “Cry Me a River,” which showcased the solidarity of his 13-member band, which included saxes, trombones and trumpets. Bublé is not so much an interpreter of famous songs. He sings them too close to the originals to truly make them his own. A couple of examples were Van Morrison’s “Crazy Love” and Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind.”
They were well-executed, but you could almost hear Van Morrison and Ray Charles singing them. Both were selections were from his recent album, "Crazy Love." He played to the female crowd, young, or, rather, youngsters, and older, which is to say, the moms in the audience. Both age groups loved it.
And, to assuage male egos, he also announced he was engaged, joking that the guys who were there because they brought their dates were thinking, “No way. He is so gay.” After that, the guys liked him, too.
He is a consummate performer. He wore a blue suit and tie, and though he never unbuttoned his jacket, that doesn’t mean he was constrained. He was lively and energetic, never more so than in an apparent impromptu excerpt of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” He had prefaced that by saying to a group of adolescent girls, “While you have Justin Bieber, I had Michael Jackson.”
But the crowd was most comfortable with his self-penned hits. “Everything” was one of them, ending with an arena full of “la’s” as his fans sang the fade-out. Another hit: “Haven’t Met You Yet.”
The stylistic line seems to blur here. Is Bublé a jazz singer, performing standards, or is he a pop-music singer?
Both.
If anything, Bublé falls under the gigantic shadow of Frank Sinatra, who could really swing. And Bublé had some hard-swinging arrangements of “How Sweet It Is” and “Heartache Tonight.” And what was Sinatra but a pop singer in a style that Bublé has repopularized.
Yet vocally Bublé didn’t sustain the high notes, such as in the encore “Me and Mrs. Jones,” during which he pointed the microphone at the crowd for Billy Paul’s line, “Me-e-e-e-e and Mrs. Jones, Mrs. Jones.” When Bublé went for expression, he did it by reaching into his lower range. But Bublé sells sincerity, though that included some misdirection for the final tune, Leon Russell’s “Song for You.”
Trumpeter Justin Ray played a solo from the stairs of a midlevel section. When the spotlight went back to Bublé onstage, he was singing without a microphone. It isn’t that he has an operatic voice that can fill a hall (he doesn’t); it isn’t that the Sprint Center has great acoustics (it doesn’t); it’s that everyone stopped to listen as Bublé sang, “We were alone, and I was singing this song for you.”
It was the most touching moment of the evening.
| Robert Folsom, Special to The Star
SET LIST
Cry Me a River; All of Me; At This Moment; Mack the Knife; Everything; I’ve Got the World on a String; Best of Me; Crazy Love; Georgia on My Mind; For Once in My Life; Billie Jean excerpt; Twist and Shout; All I Do Is Dream of You; Home; Save the Last Dance for Me; How Sweet It Is; Heartache Tonight; Haven’t Met You Yet; Feeling Good; Me and Mrs. Jones; Song for You
I saw Michael's show here at the Sprint center...it was the consumate show this reviewer said and where i sat there was nothing wrong with the sound and the band was so good I got chills. Seldom are performers as good live...I add Michael Buble to the list I have seen and thought to be spectacular.
Posted by: Dave Reep in KCMO | June 28, 2010 at 10:40 AM
As wonderful as Michael Buble is...let's give a shout out to Naturally 7...WOW, I was blown away!
Posted by: marsha | June 28, 2010 at 11:32 AM
Karaoke/cover songs.
Posted by: Eljay | June 28, 2010 at 01:45 PM
This has nothing to do w/ this show...did I miss a review of the Roger Clyne and PEacemakers show?
Posted by: Lou | June 28, 2010 at 09:38 PM
Buble' is the best, his voice is in "perfect pitch", every note. I loved this concert. Can't wait to see him again.
Posted by: Georgia Bradshaw | June 28, 2010 at 09:49 PM
After seeing him at the Sprint Center, he needs to come back visit at least once a year. We wish we were closer, but the sound was excellent. What an excellent show!
Posted by: themoo | July 01, 2010 at 09:26 PM
What a wonderful concert. My husband and I had got tickets from Ticketwood.com at discounted prices and a big "Thank You" to Ticketwood for Michael Buble Tickets .We drove from the Lewiston-Clarkston area to attend Buble concert. It was our first, and won't be the last. Being a Music teacher, I've followed Michael's career since the first interivew I saw years ago. There is absolutely no one who can interpret a song like Michael with such emotion and tenderness as on "Best of Me", "Home," or "Song for You.". Great Show!
http://www.ticketwood.com/concerts/Michael-Buble-Tickets/index.php
Posted by: Michael Buble | August 16, 2010 at 05:26 AM