A few weeks ago, there was a moderate kerfuffle made over Ariana Grande
licking some doughnuts and saying she hated Americans.
She subsequently clarified and apologized for her remarks, but the anti-American
stigma remained. To her doubting Thomases, I would point out that her concert
Friday night at the Times Union Center revealed a love of things
quintessentially American: fireworks, spectacle and a consistently hardworking
performance that was at times erratic, but unyielding in its efforts
to entertain.
She got the evening off to a bang, literally, opening with a
pyrotechnic-laden cover of Jessie J's "Bang Bang." Backup dancers
traversed the stage, Grande, decked out in one of the adult kitten costumes
found at Spencer Gifts come Halloween time, belted out the vocals powerfully
enough to be heard over the too-loud bass-and-drum mix while the mostly
under-16 crowd screamed their heads off in ecstatic approval.
The pint-size fans in the crowd again went crazy a few minutes later. After
disappearing beneath the stage, Grande returned for "Best Mistake,"
descending from above the stage on a giant cloud. Soon after came a mash-up of
Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman" and Madonna's "Vogue"
that would be pitchy enough to get her voted off "American Idol" in
the mid-rounds of the show. She recovered well though, and the bouncy follow-up
"Be My Baby" was a real highlight of the evening.
Ariana Grande again pulled the disappearing/reappearing act, lowering down to the
stage dressed like a miniskirted flapper while riding atop a giant chandelier
with imagery that conjured up thoughts of Fitzgerald's great American novel
"The Great Gatsby" playing on the video screen behind her.
This culminated in a fun version of the keyboard-driven bubble gum pop of
"Pink Champagne" and a rendition of "Tattooed Heart," in
which Grande missed some notes but powered through to a strong positive
reception from her fans.
Source: Timesunion.com
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