Main Set: Waiting, Fastlove, I'm Your Man, Father Figure, Hard Day, Everything She Wants, One More Try, A Different Corner, An Easier Affair, Too Funky - interval - Faith, Spinning The Wheel, Feeling Good, Roxanne, Kissing A Fool, Amazing, Flawless, Outside
Encore: Praying For Time, Careless Whisper, Freedom '90
Comment: There is a good atmosphere in the packed HP Pavilion. After playing 'Outside' in his familiar police outfit, George leaves and returns to play 'Praying For Time'.
Media Reviews:
Review: George Michael live is 'Flawless'
George Michael, in excellent voice and good spirit, thanked his San Francisco and San Jose fans for being patient with him.
"Lord knows, it's not always been easy being a George Michael fan," he told the capacity crowd at HP Pavilion in San Jose on Thursday night at his first Bay Area appearance in 17 years.
He promised he'd do everything he could to make up for his long absence, and by the end of the 90-minute set, sending the crowd home with the anthem "Freedom 90" as the encore, by jove, he had.
A newfound maturity seems to be working for the 44-year-old British pop star, who's had his share of public ups and downs in the 25 years he's been making hits. Through the years, he hasn't necessarily been fond of performing his blockbuster tunes, but on his recent "25" tour through Europe and now the states, he's embracing them.
The concert spanned his career, even bouncing back to his Wham! days, with thrilling, sounding-the-like-record versions of the fun "I'm Your Man," scathing "Everything She Wants" and emotional "A Different Corner."
While the song selection slightly favored uptempo dance hits such as "Hard Day," "Fast Love" and "Flawless," Michael did devote energy to compelling, even powerful, ballads, nicely dividing them between the fast numbers.
"Waiting (Reprise)" appropriately opened the show; the third tune was the heartrending "Father Figure," during which he sat on a stool, addressing the audience, evocatively inviting everyone to sing the final word: Till the end of ... time." An unadorned "One More Try" showed off his vocal skills.
His band, situated on three levels at his back between an elaborate set-up of three huge video screens, sounded fantastic, as did six hard-working backup vocalists who provided perfect counterpoint.
A catchy, upbeat new song, "An Easier Affair," reflected Michael's 21st-century philosophy, he said: "to learn to live your life and not worry about what other people think."
"Too Funky" was accompanied by the original supermodel video footage; another vivid video sequence, featuring women, presumably prostitutes, in Amsterdam, went with Michael's jazzy interpretation of the Police's "Roxanne." The mood prevailed when a grand piano seemed to emerge toward the front of the stage for the smoky "Kissing a Fool."
"Amazing" was how he described recently seeing "two ladies on the telly getting married"; then he went on to dedicate the dance-love song "Amazing" to his partner, Kenny. He dressed up like a cop for "Outside," a tune he wrote after his infamous Southern California arrest on sex charges; then changed back into his black jeans, T-shirt and jacket for a massive sing-along of "Careless Whisper," smiling the whole time.
"Now that's what I call a duet," he said. "I don't know why I stayed away so long." At long last, like his followers, he's finally got "Faith."
Review: George Michael live is 'Flawless'
Last Night: George Michael at the HP Pavillion
Better than: Watching George Michael make the news
Michael also raised the bar for expensive arena concerts—top tickets to the show were $175—with his production values. A large LED screen that cascaded onto the floor and continued to the edge of the stage projected beautiful still and moving images ranging from classic Hollywood celluloid to futuristic female droids, his band tucked into risers behind it.
"Thank you for sticking by me for the better part of 25 years," he said after finishing his opening numbers, "Fastlove" and "I'm Your Man." "Lord knows it's not always easy to be a George Michael fan!"
It was little surprise that the nearly sold-out crowd appeared to be resolutely over 30-years-old, though it was odd not to see anything in the way of crazy or tributary outfits on the fans save two ladies in matching heart shirts holding signs that said, "Denmark loves you!" and "5,661 miles, only for U!"
The first half of the show also included smash songs like "Father Figure," "Everything She Wants" and "Too Funky," but a popular highlight was his return from intermission, jumping right into "Faith."
A few songs later, he ran off stage and re-emerged with what would be his only costume change for the performance, donning handcuffs, dark aviator shades and a top reminiscent of a police officer's uniform. It was the perfect, cheeky ensemble to perform "Outside," the single and video in which Michael made fun of his 1998 arrest for engaging in a lewd act with an undercover policeman in a Beverly Hills bathroom, and end the show.
He quickly appeared for his encore, sitting down for a tender rendition of "Praying For Time" and then leaping to his feet for "Careless Whisper." Though Michael had kept the crowd at an enviable level of excitement and energy throughout, fans gave him just a little bit extra juice for these.
Back out for a second encore, Michael asked, "So, if you could hear one more song, what would it be?" He was greeted with cacophony, which soon dissolved into as much of a consensus as a 16,000-seat arena could muster, and the opening strains of "Freedom" rang.
And as he bowed off the stage for the final time, end credits rolled on the LED screen, a creative final touch to a rather compelling show.
Critic's Notebook:
Personal bias: Knows all the vocal ad-libs on "Everything She Wants."
Random detail: No "Choose Life" T-shirts were spotted inside, but there was one "Give Your Life To Jesus" sign outside.
By the way: Not to rub it in, but George Michael has said that he does not intend to tour again.
Last Night: George Michael at the HP Pavillion
George Michael rewards local fans for their faith
The fans had to have faith. It had been 17 years since George Michael's last North American tour. Meanwhile, the pop star had racked up far more tabloid headlines than hit singles. Yet, his fans were still willing to brave ticket prices that topped out at $175 and turn out in full force to see Michael on Thursday night (June 19th) at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, which marked the singer's first Bay Area performance since Oct. 1, 1991 at what was then known as Oakland Coliseum.
Their faith was rewarded - at times, handsomely - during Michael's two-set show. The 44-year-old Londoner, who came to fame as a member of Wham!, managed to put on a likeable enough 2-hour show, despite delivering a set list that was iffy at best.
The capacity crowd rose to its feet to greet Michael as he opened the show with "Waiting," putting a little extra muscle into the line, "Here I am / Is it too late to try again?" Sporting tinted shades, a dark sports coat over a V-neck T-shirt and that still-fab do, Michael looked great - and so did his stage. The stage design was both visually impressive and nicely unobtrusive, providing just enough effects to keep things interesting but never distracting our attention from the star. There were three video screens, including one that sloped from ceiling to the floor under Michael's feet, and the live band was located on a three-tier set-up at the back of the stage.
Although there were more than a dozen accompanying musicians, including six fine backing vocalists, the music rarely felt 'live.' Instead, oddly enough, it sounded like a recorded track was pumping behind Michael as he continued on through such boring dance numbers as "Hard Day" and "An Easier Affair." There have been far too many tracks like those in Michael's solo career, which is why his overly ambitious greatest hits albums - notably 2006's generous "25" - would have benefitted from a more judicious editing process. Likewise, this concert had more than its share of filler, which is what kept it from being a truly great show.
The first set had a few killer moments, such as a take on the Wham! classic "I'm Your Man" that was half new arrangement and half original rendition. Yet, Michael - who is nothing if not a showman - ended the set on a surprising low note as he left the crowd with the numbing dance number "Too Funky." Things improved somewhat in the nightcap. Michael, who seemed to be saving his voice in the first set by allowing the crowd and his backing vocalists to handle the most demanding lines, finally let it fly on a tremendous version of "Faith."
After another dance-floor snoozer, 1996's "Spinning the Wheel," the star got back on track with a sensational cover of the standard "Feeling Good." Michael stuck fairly close to Nina Simone's version, which is the best-known rendition of "Feeling Good," but he wisely didn't attempt to duplicate the jazz singer's vocal gymnastics at the end. Instead, he added the lyric, "You know it's too much to expect a man, a white man, to do it like Nina."
The singer stayed the course by then covering the Police's "Roxanne," featured on Michael's "Songs from the Last Century" CD of 1999. "Roxanne," as the Police will prove with its local shows next month, is one of those songs that we really don't need to hear again, yet Michael managed to make it worth our time by setting it in a semi-jazz arrangement.
Another weak dance number, "Outside" (performed by Michael in a police officer's uniform), brought the second set to a close. Then, however, it was all aces as Michael returned for encores of "Praying for Time," "Careless Whisper" and "Freedom 90." Those three numbers, more than anything else delivered on this night, were the fans' true rewards for years of faith.
George Michael rewards local fans for their faith
In San Jose, George Michael is their man
George Michael has spent the past 17 years making tabloid headlines, loitering in public bathrooms, falling asleep in traffic, championing pot, railing against President Bush, releasing a handful of gloomy albums and not touring the United States. It's a good thing the former Wham! front man has the most forgiving fans in the world.
He has said this will be his last tour. At 44, Michael is not as bendy as he used to be, and the tight white shorts of the Wham! days have sadly been traded in for boring black blazers, but in every other regard he looked exactly like we left him, with the gleaming teeth, designer sunglasses and ever-present stubble intact. "My can-canning days are over, I'm afraid," he apologized at one point. But that didn't stop Michael from taking the stage alone, with the live band relegated to three-tiers of scaffolding behind an enormous digital screen that broadcast images ripped directly from the iTunes visualizer and six backup singers hovering near the edges. He might not move like Kanye West but he had little trouble keeping the audience on its feet.
But the energy, onstage and off, never faltered. And when Michael re-emerged from the wings for an encore of "Careless Whisper," well, the only thing that could have made the orgasm better is if Andrew Ridgley came running to his side.
In San Jose, George Michael is their man
Fan Videos:
George Michael - Feeling Good (Live San Jose 2008)
George Michael - One More Try (Live San Jose 2008)
George Michael - Outside (Live San Jose 2008)
George Michael - Too Funky (Live San Jose 2008)
George Michael - Roxanne (Live San Jose 2008)
George Michael - Kissing A Fool (Live San Jose 2008)
George Michael - Freedom '90 (Live San Jose 2008)
More videos from San Jose