For this concert, Adam looks fresh faced with lively hair. He's dressed mainly in black with a splash of colour from his silk leopardskin shirt:
Adam camps up Trespassing with his fun and fierce facial expressions to make it a blast. I got my wish where he left out the second "crack", leaving it to the backing singers. The high notes are always so impressive for this song, bright and brilliant. There's a lovely moment where he breaks out of the performer persona at the end to reveal a sweet smile.
Kickin' In has a great introduction that helps to build the excitement. During the first verse I can't hear much of Adam, just mainly the high backing vocals. The low scrapey tone comes in for the second verse though. It's a very cool performance but still find it rather repetitive towards the end despite his improvisations.
Shady doesn't have the most accurate start where Adam uses a part of his voice that I'm not used to hearing. It's less dance and much more rock than on the album, I guess because the electronic effects aren't so easy to recreate. I love the sticky bass sound.
WWFM has a very sombre intro with the piano and occasional big echoey drum. This rearranged moody version brings out the best of the beautiful textures in Adam's voice, stunning the audience into silence. The end is a surprising haunting one.
Adam doesn't sing all the verse lines of Broken English with half going to the backing singers, making it more like a conversation. It sounds very dreamy. He doesn't layer his vocals over the bridge for this version so instead we have Tommy doing a guitar solo. I would prefer Adam's voice but I do like the calmness of the guitar over the frenetic drumming. The final note is an effortlessly long and impressive one that comes unexpected.
Chokehold brings a beautiful soft sound to Adam's voice for the verses. I have to admit a mild obsession with the way he sings "pain" with such need. He again doesn't sing over the bridge, instead making use of the instrumentals and backing vocals.
I find Naked Love a bit too perky immediately after Chokehold but I like the giggling and enjoyment from Adam. The trumpety sound is a bit annoyingly distinct, and again the ending feels weird and indecisive. I guess it hasn't grown on me yet.
Cuckoo is thumping, sounding much funkier than the album version thanks to the guitar from Tommy. I love the electronic bass noises. This version includes an instrumental part with funk guitar and Adam riffing over the top. I love this one. There is a big rock finish.
Before NCOE, Adam reluctantly takes off his jacket after some audience banter. Apparently it ruins the whole look. I think that shirt could've done with some unbuttoning myself. There are less distinguishable electronic effects on this version and not the usual mighty runs on the big notes.
Pan(of Thrace) 5/19/2012 5:28PM
ReplyDeleteI'm in the low notes "phase" , I love Adam singing Runnin', Kickin' In or Shady using his baritone notes. In my foolish attempts to proselytize , my victims used to say, "but he doesn't have a manly voice", you know that shit with freaky tenors. Kickin' In , paradoxically, for me is interesting precisely because it is sung by a tenor. Shady sounded great , for me, an old rocker, the mixture of funk and rock is heaven.. I can understand why American fans love so much BE or NL, but I don't, they didn't grow on me. Adam was born to be on stage , to be a joy for both ears and eyes. He commands it like a lover, sometimes tenderly, other times arrogantly or with humour, and we are more than his witnesses , we're also his accomplices. His latest live performances prove this.
PS The map made me childishly happy.