Kelly Clarkson performs at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday night. Nov. 18, 2009
Photograph by: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist
REVIEW
What: Kelly Clarkson with Eric Hutchinson and Parachute
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
When: Wednesday night
Rating: 4 1/2 stars (out of five)
MIKE DEVLIN
Times Colonist
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Kelly Clarkson’s concert Wednesday night at the arena was heavy on cover songs. She did, after all, win the American Idol title in 2002 by tackling everyone from Aretha Franklin to Céline Dion.
Clarkson’s choices were more esoteric during her Victoria debut. The 27 year-old from Fort Worth, Tex., touched on everything from alt-rock to classic country with amazing precision during 90 hit-packed minutes.
She opened with the title track of her fourth album, All I Ever Wanted, a brassy blast which must have given the soundman fits. The shrill sound wasn’t solved in time for the Grammy-nominated Miss Independent, a rocker that showcased her major league pipes, but by the night’s third song, I Do Not Hook Up, Clarkson and her 11-piece band were rolling big-time.
The tempos shifted for the remainder of the night, but the quality rarely dipped.
She mixed Alanis Morissette's That I Would Be Good with Kings of Leon’s Use Somebody during one of her set’s strongest segments, a medley that was punctuated by heartfelt lyrics Clarkson made her own. Say what you want about the pop machine that introduced her to the world: Clarkson’s vocal ability and skills as an interpreter are simply out of this world.
The stage setup was overwhelming at times, but when Clarkson skipped the frills for an acoustic segment, she still soared. Her cover of the Black Keys’ Lies exposed Clarkson’s bluesy side with nothing more than a piano and electric guitar for accompaniment, while two guitars and a trumpet were her only guide for Patsy Cline’s Walking After Midnight. Talk about your super-sized talents.
The singer’s own material sounded exceptional throughout, but at times the decibels being emitted from her band were problematic (Walk Away, with a full horn section and backup singers, fizzled; so did her cover of the White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army).
The highlights, which were plentiful, overshadowed any qualms. Since U Been Gone, which had the crowd of 5,700 in fits, was immense; equally so, but for different reasons, was her encore power ballad Sober, which took Clarkson’s voice and peeled paint off the walls.
Opening acts Parachute, a five-piece from Charlottesville, Va., and Boston-bred singer-songwriter Eric Hutchinson — his Stevie Wonder vibe was the far better of the two — were solid. But not enough can be said about the power Clarkson displayed.
Over the audience, who adored her. Over her material, which sounds much stronger in concert. And over the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, whose stage rarely supports an artist of such impressive talent.
mdevlin@tc.canwest.com
Setlist:
1. All I Ever Wanted
2. Miss Independent
3. I Do Not Hook Up
4. That I Would Be Good/Use Somebody
5. Breakaway
6. If I Can't Have You
7. Never Again
8. Lies
9. Walking After Midnight
10. Behind These Hazel Eyes
11. I Want You
12. Because of You
13. Walk Away
14. Since U Been Gone
ENCORE
15. Sober
16. Already Gone
17. Seven Nation Army
18. My Life Would Suck Without You
Kelly Clarkson performs at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday night. Nov. 18, 2009
Photograph by: Bruce Stotesbury, Times Colonist
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I too was at the concert last night & only one negative thing to say - she started too late. They should have looked at their target audience being young fans...coming on stage at 9:10pm was too late for a Wednesday night. There was also no need for two opening acts. Otherwise, I enjoyed it.
There is no way that "G" was at this concert. Kelly is truly amazing!!! What a voice.
Kelly Clarkson puts on one heck of a show. She is so amazing. I have seen her in concert 3 times and WOW. She is so down-to-earth, sings with such emotion, has the best vocals, and is so versatile and gifted. I cannot say enough about the talent of this young woman. I will be a fan forever.
Clarkson was brilliant and I was blown away. Next time she goes to either Vancouver or Seatle... I'm there!
She was amazing ,she can really sing .I thought the concert was great
Fantastic, Fabulous, Awesome!! What an amazing way to introduce 3 9-year olds to their very first concert! Kelly's vocal abilities are mnd-boggling! She's charming, personable and just plain amazing! Great show and totally worth the 2 hour drive in the wind and rain :)
Hi my mom & i loved Kelly clarkson Last night we just couldn't understand why she had to have two opening acts and such long setup changes in between the three . there was a screen inbetween where the first acts and kelly's stage was so why did it take so long.If they had reduced some of the down time kelly could have sang longer but what a great concert . We were glad for the reduced priceing of tickets or we wouldn't have seen it at all!
I took my 17 yr old daughter and her friend to this concert last night. I went in thinking I was going to hate it, but boy was I surprised. She was actually really good, I would even say fantastic. I've been to a lot of Rock concerts in my day, so going to a pop concert wasn't on my radar, but this girl has some pipes and clearly knows how to use them. She seemed very down to earth and funny when chatting with the crowd too, she was very endearing. I was also pleasantly surprised at the covers she sang...not what I'd expect from a pop star either, but she did a more than admirable job with all of them, especially The Black Keys cover of "Lies" and The White Stripes "7 Nation Army". I almost wonder if I enjoyed the show more than the kids...she was THAT good. I would've liked an earlier start time though. By the time the concert was over, and you made your way out of parking, it was pretty late. But the openers weren't bad, she just didn't need 2.
Concert was great but but pretty short. Just over an hour (not 90 mins)... I guess the day of 2 hrs performances are gone but overall great concert despite that she appeared to be sick. Rock on Kelly.
My 8 and 11 year old girls were in total awe last night.....for good reason! Way to go Kelly awesome awesome show!!!!!!
It sucked, waste of money.....GARBAGE!!!!! 1 hr and 17 min of my life I will never get back
The girl rocked, yes, but one wonders why such a talent required two opening acts and such a late start time?
From my vantage point, I enjoyed all the views.
4.5? And Jann Arden scored 3.5?
Very odd rating system.
was an awesome concert the only downfall was her bodyguard wouldnt let her come outside and sign autographs for the 10 or so people that were outside for an hour and a half in the rain
I thought she used to about 22 songs?? Hmm oh well im sure it was amazing!!