- by Victoria Tsigonis
- Friday, July 25, 2008
- Photo by: wenn
- filed in: Pop
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It’s been 17 years since George Michael stepped foot on U.S. soil for a full fledged tour, but the wait was well worth it.
Dazzling a New York crowd for his second show at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night (July 23), a dapper George Michael strutted on stage to screams loud enough to be heard in his native England.
Opening with ‘Waiting’, a display of fireworks lit up on the screens backing the singer. Belting out a ballad like only Michael could, his voice sounded as crisp and clean as the day he recorded the track. Picking up the pace soon after with ‘Fastlove’, he got the crowd moving as they boogied along to the beat.
Wasting no time getting into the hits, the singer shortly broke into ‘Father Figure’ much to the audience’s delight. “Compared to the other 15 shows we’ve played, the crowd was a little subdued (at the Monday night show) but someone turned the power back on”, announce Michael as he continued to electrify the crowd with ‘Don’t Bring Me Down’ and ‘Too Funky’.
Taking a short break, Michael left fans itching for more during a 20-minute intermission. Coming back straight into ‘Faith’, the audience sang in unison as Michael moved his hips smoothly back and forth imitating the original music video from 1987.
Risking it a bit, Michael took a stab at an interesting block of covers that received a lukewarm response. Tackling Nina Simone’s ‘Feeling Good’, complete with footage of burlesque queen Dita Von Teese in the background and The Police classic ‘Roxanne’ with his own little twist were unfortunately the low points of the set.
Picking up the pace, Michael performed ‘Kissing A Fool’, sending the women in the audience into a frenzy. High pitched voices matched Michael’s lyrics perfectly as fans seemed to be reliving the moment when they heard the song for the first time.
“OK we’re going to get a bit gay now”, said Michael cheerfully, as he danced with his backup singers before going into ‘Flawless’. With flashing lights sweeping across the screens, nothing but fun was to be had on stage and off.
The lights dimmed down to the sound of helicopters, only to see Michael poking a bit of fun at himself and returning to the stage dressed in full cop uniform. Getting the audience engaged, Michael rushed to the front of the stage to sing 'Outside' as the arena turned into a modern day Studio 54.
Michael saved the best for last with two incredible encores leaving a lasting impact on his fans. Coming back to perform ‘Careless Whisper’, the audience applauded at the first notes as they swayed along to the ballad.
Returning once again to the stage to a thunderous applause, Michael performed his last two tracks of the night, ‘Fantasy’ and of course, ‘Freedom’ (could the show be complete without this? Not so much). Allowing the crowd to sing most of ‘Freedom’, the audience raised their hands in unison as the chorus echoed proudly throughout the 20,000+ crowd.
“For those of you who stuck by me for 25 years, thank you”, said Michael sincerely to his New York fans. He can thank us all he wants, but the real thank you is to you Mr. Michael for an incredible performance.
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