He may have walked onto the stage 50 minutes late, but from the first bars of show-opener “Waiting”, the crowd at Montreal’s Bell Centre forgave George Michael his tardiness, and nearly 20-year absence from the North American stage.
Packing the arena for the July 18 performance in support of his career retrospective 25Live album, Michael promised to “work hard” to make up for his long absence. The pop legend didn’t disappoint.
Burning into “Fast Love / I’m Your Man” Michael owned the stage. The 45-year-old singer was in fine form vocally, sounding strong on ballads such as “Father Figure”, a soulful “One More Try” and a stripped down version of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” where she sat alone center stage to perform the classic made famous by Roberta Flack.
Behind him, the show continued on three impressive screens that flashed lights and scrolled old images of Michael in his Wham days during an electric performance of the classic “Everything She Wants”. Other stills included the famous hug between former President Clinton and Monica Lewinsky during Michael’s first set closer “Star People”.
When You Shake Your Class They Notice Fast
Gone are the carefree Wham days of pink gloves and ‘Choose Life’ T’s. In their place Michael emerged a soulful crooner donning sleek sports coats and cool shades, choosing instead to showcase his later more mature, if not as popular, material.
The second half of the show opened with “Faith” followed by two versions of “Spinning the Wheel”, but slowed to a crawl with the Nina Simone classic “Feeling Good” followed by a jazzy cover of “Roxane”, backed by photographs of the inhabitants of Amsterdam’s Red Light District, before moving into a toned down version of “Kissing a Fool”.
But Michael demonstrated he still loved to dance, bringing the tempo up to perform two tracks from his Patience album, “Amazing” and “Flawless”. Michael proved he could still have fun, dressed in a police outfit for an energetic performance of “Outside”, a song he wrote after his infamous L.A. toilet incident.
A Different Corner
The eager crowd was treated to not one but two encore performances. To an ear-shattering buzz, Michael returned to the stage to perform “A Different Corner”, the track that launched his solo career, and “Careless Whisper” the song that secured Wham in the musical history books.
His second encore featured “Fantasy” the b-side to show opener “Waiting” as well as the show closer “Freedom 90” followed by a humbled Michael who thanked his fans generously then left the stage.
George Michael may not have the chart presence he once did, but for one hot summer night in Montreal, he owned the city.
George Michael’s Montreal Performance Set List
Opening Half
- Waiting (Reprise)
- Fast Love/I'm Your Man
- Father Figure
- Hard Day
- Everything She Wants
- One More Try
- The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
- Easier Affair
- Too Funky
- Star People
Intermission: John & Elvis video
Closing Half
- Faith
- Spinning The Wheel
- Feeling Good
- Roxanne
- Kissing A Fool
- Amazing
- Flawless
- Outside
- Different Corner
- Careless Whisper
- Fantasy
- Freedom 90
- Freedom Reprise
James W. Coates - A nomad at heart, James W. Coates has been combining his passion for music, writing and traveling ever since his father packed the family ...
