Idina Menzel, Live!
Aug. 23rd, 2017 09:27 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elfsRaen and I went out to Marymoor Park last night for an outdoor concert with Idina Menzel. Menzel opened one of her songs (the one from Rent) with "If you're a straight guy who don't know who I am or what I'm about to sing, and who probably got dragged here by your friends and didn't have time to google for me..." So, if you don't know who Idina Menzel is, Menzel's huge break was playing Maureen from Rent, she was the original actress playing the title character Elphaba in Wicked (for which she won a Tony), and if nothing else everyone on the planet has heard her as the voice of Elsa from Frozen.
The evening was delightfully warm with just enough of a breeze. There was one star visible in the night sky at first, and my best guess is that it was Vega, 25 light years away.
The concert was a collection of hits from all three shows, plus a few covers (including Led Zepplin's Black Dog and the Beatle's Dear Prudence), as well as songs from her latest album, which, er, um...
... let's just say that it's somewhat embarrassing to hear someone thrashing out her anger and sadness with her ex onstage. Because, to be honest, that's what a lot of those songs were about. Cake is about how she's found a better man than her ex, I Do is a rant about how marriage can suck in general, and Perfect Story is an apology to her young son about how fucked up life can become. (On the other hand, her opening song Queen of Swords was pretty rockin' and sounds like something she should duet with a very angry Stevie Nicks.) Even Raen picked up on that theme. I know you're supposed to take the pain life gives you and make art out of it, but sometimes an artist can be just a little too obvious about it, ne?
The band behind her was pretty damned good, with her backup singer and cellist and the violin player. Menzel worked really hard to get the audience to appreciate the band, and she named them all time and again, to make sure we appreciated them as much as she did.
Naturally, of course, the finale of the night was the hit from Frozen, Let It Go. She invited dozens of small children, all dressed in Tiffany blue dresses and t-shirts, and had several of them sing the third stanza, over and over. I now officially feel sorry for every kindergarten teacher who had to survive the winter of 2013.
It was fun.
The evening was delightfully warm with just enough of a breeze. There was one star visible in the night sky at first, and my best guess is that it was Vega, 25 light years away.
The concert was a collection of hits from all three shows, plus a few covers (including Led Zepplin's Black Dog and the Beatle's Dear Prudence), as well as songs from her latest album, which, er, um...
... let's just say that it's somewhat embarrassing to hear someone thrashing out her anger and sadness with her ex onstage. Because, to be honest, that's what a lot of those songs were about. Cake is about how she's found a better man than her ex, I Do is a rant about how marriage can suck in general, and Perfect Story is an apology to her young son about how fucked up life can become. (On the other hand, her opening song Queen of Swords was pretty rockin' and sounds like something she should duet with a very angry Stevie Nicks.) Even Raen picked up on that theme. I know you're supposed to take the pain life gives you and make art out of it, but sometimes an artist can be just a little too obvious about it, ne?
The band behind her was pretty damned good, with her backup singer and cellist and the violin player. Menzel worked really hard to get the audience to appreciate the band, and she named them all time and again, to make sure we appreciated them as much as she did.
Naturally, of course, the finale of the night was the hit from Frozen, Let It Go. She invited dozens of small children, all dressed in Tiffany blue dresses and t-shirts, and had several of them sing the third stanza, over and over. I now officially feel sorry for every kindergarten teacher who had to survive the winter of 2013.
It was fun.
