Concert review: Kelly Clarkson

From the desk of The Movie Snob

First, let me say that going to this concert last night was not my idea (notwithstanding Entertainment Weekly's report that Kelly Clarkson is the "must-see" concert of the summer). A friend had an extra ticket, so I decided to go ahead and see the Queen of All American Idols. Truthfully, it wasn't a bad show. Of course, the opening act was lame -- a California band called "Rooney" that consisted of five generic white guys playing amazingly generic rock music. Won't be running out to buy their CD anytime soon. On the plus side, although their music was loud, it was not as painfully loud as some concerts and karaoke bars I've been to.

Ms. Clarkson played for about an hour and twenty minutes, and she gave the audience 100%. I'm not very familiar with her body of work, but I did recognize four or five of her songs, and all of them were plenty catchy. Even the one that apparently started out as a commercial for Ford (which is sponsoring this concert tour). Ms. Clarkson definitely has a good voice, and she easily whipped the crowd (average age: 16; average sex: female) into a frenzy with instant classics like "Break Away," "Since You've Been Gone," and "Stairway to Heaven." For her encore, she did something I don't think I had ever seen at a concert, which is reappear in the middle of the crowd, where the sound equipment was, and start her next song right there amidst the fans. And during the song, she gradually walked back down to the stage, heavily escorted by security personnel of course. Her adoring fans went nuts. I could see why she is so popular.