Just after 8:30PM the lights dimmed, the band took their positions on stage and the audience went nuts. They went REALLY nuts when Daisy Duke took the stage!!!!
Seriously, it was Faith, but my instant reaction was Daisy Duke (it totally does not help that I think there is a strong resemblance between Jessica Simpson and Faith Hill). Unfortunately I still haven’t gotten that Daisy Duke association out of my head…
Faith’s song selection was very good…a mix of oldies, newbies and covers, and she did a great job on all. She ventured to the sides of the stage frequently, though a bit “stage left” heavy, and waved and winked often. She even crouched down to grasp the outstretched hands of her fans and even allowed one to sing in place of her. She frequently encouraged her fans to sing and clap along as she sang and rocked around the stage. And the eye candy that was Faith? Yep, the guys were quite happy…
Now for the negatives…
Not once was there any mention of what happened to opening act Jennette McCurdy…in fact, Faith’s chatter with the audience was minimal, and uncomfortable. The song selection was a very good representation of her body of work, but even when she gave everything she had to her song “Stronger”, the audience reaction told me it didn’t reach their core (though I thought it was awesome). When the song ended I made a point to turn around and watch the fans…less than 1/3 gave her a standing “O”, and those that did quickly silenced their hands and sat back down.
There were obvious interruptions as well. Before the concert began I watched a gentleman, I will call him Stage Manager, come out and anchor a long length of paper to the floor directly in front of where Faith would stand. Halfway through the show he came out and turned said paper…try as he might it was a very obvious move. On two other occasions Faith finger-invited him on stage and whispered in his ear. One time was between songs, the other was during an instrumental portion of a song.
It was quite obvious she was having issues with her IFB pack…and her ear piece…her hands frequently visiting her back and her ear. Let’s not even discuss the corded microphone!!! On at least one occasion the cord and microphone stand tangled in such a way that a guitar player had to step in and untangle the two to head off a disaster.
By far the most irritating part for me was that Faith kept looking down and reading…whether it was the paper or a teleprompter I’ll never know…but it happened…frequently!
It was very clear that she didn’t just have her eyes closed…she was looking down and reading. I’ve been to enough concerts to know that “help” is a standard practice just in case, but for it to be so obvious? Not so good…
I think Faith had a great time, though at times I thought she was struggling with her identity, performing more like a rock ‘n roll gal than a country gal. And for the most part I enjoyed the concert very much…it was just missing the magic that happened two nights earlier at the Martina McBride concert.
Will I attend another Faith Hill concert? Negative. If the tickets were free? Still negative. If I had a backstage pass? Doubt it… Will I listen to & purchase her albums? Definitely! She’s an awesome singer but just not a good live performer, at least in my opinion.