Aguilera is Anything but Basic
March 27th, 2007 by Cruzin |
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By Niki Cruz
Eight twenty nine pm on March 23rd, and Nicole, member of the Pussycat Dolls asked the Madison Square Garden audience if they were ready to hear Christina Aguilera. The crowd replied with a roar of screams not only coming from a range of 6 to 25 year olds but the reception was all the way down to the enthusiastic Mother’s, who looked like they were dragging their children along rather than the children dragging them. The lights lowered down and out came Christina “the voice” Aguilera, sauntering down the broadway-esque lit stairs belting the jazzy hit song “Ain’t No Other Man” equipped with male and female dancers in toe, all adorned in sharp, white business suits. The song went off without a hitch and brought a start to the brassy laced tour. After her “Back to Basics” song where she dedicated the tunes to the legends of yesteryear, Gladys Knight, Billy Holiday and Louie Armstrong, Aguilera proudly and humbly exclaimed to the audience “I would like you to dispense your sense of reality and come out of your shell for the evening. There will be many surprises and I hope you enjoy the show.”
This no hold bars concert definitely put reality in a corner and slapped it up side the head with the circus theme that took over during the second act with songs like “Welcome”, and the re vamped “Dirrty”. The theme featured Dancers and Aguilera on the Trapeze and Dancers twirling around sticks of fire like it was an everyday occurrence. The surprise “Lady Marmalade” performance even had Christina making her entrance out from the stage floor on a meri-go-round pony! There was no way in stopping Christina, she bounced and performed intricately choreographed dance moves that showed off her adult class more than the bubble gum fun she was once known for. But it’s her vocals that brought out the melting-pot audience and it’s her voice that stood the test of theatrical night, never faltering and ten times powerful than any record. FTC student Chris Cavallo exclaimed during the concert, “I’ve never experienced anything like this. I appreciate and respect her even more and will never hear her songs the same again. She’s just that powerful.”
Making clear that her new style was a modern version of Jazz the songs that were popular back in the bubble gum days like “Come on Over” and “What A Girl Wants” were turned into a regular Aretha Franklin classic, featuring (like all of the songs performed) the 12 piece brass band that played a part in the show. Never in a concert before has a band been such a fixture of a show. Each member seemed to have a good time and even danced around Christina as she belted out “Makes Me Wanna Pray” – a gospel/ jazz song that featured a soulful backup singer who frequently battled Christina in runs and vocal riffs of her own.
The highlight of the night wasn’t the six costume changes or the elaborate sets but more or less Aguilera’s powerhouse vocals. The song that had everyone in tears was “Oh, Mother” a song in dedication to her Mother, who left the abusive father to Christina Aguilera. Before the song Aguilera got in touch with the audience stating. “I’ve been through a lot in my life and I have always turned to singing. Abuse is something that my mother and I endured but instead of dwelling on it, I’m making it into something positive.” Throughout the powerful ballad was a not-so-subtle video of a bloodied woman getting punched in the face with a young Aguilera look-a-like in the shadows looking on. The first encore of the night was the powerful anthemed song “Beautiful” which was the show’s true stopper; everything about the performance was stellar. The audience on their feet screaming until their lungs could no longer breathe, and Aguilera too even had to stop for a minute as she became emotional which prompted the audience to scream in union. She topped the night off with “Fighter” another youthful powerful message for woman, and out popped the confetti. The show wasn’t over yet; Aguilera addressed the audience saying “Thank You for supporting me from the beginning. This is only the beginning and if you think you’ve seen anything, you ain’t seen nothing yet.” And as Christina’s silhouette disappears underneath the stage and applause is heard throughout the Garden you can’t help but to believe her.
