Michael Bublé
/By Dane Anderson
Artist: Michael Bublé
Date / Venue: Wednesday May 21st, Vector Arena, Auckland
It's been eleven years since Michael Bublé brought his smooth voice to the shores of New Zealand, and as he claimed last night at Vector Arena in Auckland, "I'm a dumb-ass for not coming back sooner!"
It was apparent though that he was there to make up for lost time and entertain those who attended the sold-out show, so that no one walked away with nothing but love for the man who has it all.The smooth rich voice, the dapper suit, the witty comedic tales and natural stage presence, just his genuineness, all qualities that he portrayed throughout his nearly 2 hour set. Making the audience either love him in terms of wanting to be with him, or making you want to be him as he slid from ‘Try A Little Tenderness' to ‘Haven't Met You Yet' toVan Morrison's ‘Moondance' and Frank Sinatra's ‘Come Dance With Me'. He covered it all.
Several times he reminded the audience that this was his 100th show of the current tour but neither he nor the band showed any signs of fatigue or tiredness. They were tight and were enjoying themselves, never skipping a beat even when Bublé took off to the back of the arena for a set list accompanied by opening actNaturally 7 which included The Jackson 5's ‘Who's Loving Who' and The Bee Gee's ‘To Love Somebody'.
The Beatles cover of ‘All You Need Is Love' saw the skies open up with heart shaped glitter, which soon covered the floor of Vector Arena, while ‘Home' was dedicated to the people of Auckland.
Michael Bublé doesn't seem to take himself too seriously, he shows his passion, and is genuine in his gratitude to where he has come from and where he is today. But it's his comedic stage presence combined with the voice that makes Michael Bublé the true entertainer, stopping in between songs to bring an audience member up (who had made her own sign) for him to hug, get a photo with, and even sign her poster (to which he proclaimed "this will get you plenty of money online"). Even mocking the audience for getting the words of ‘Everything' wrong.
He has it all and is well worth seeing live in concert, just in case it's another eleven years until he's back. Lets hope not!
Opening for Michael Bublé were New York act Naturally 7 who were the surprise package of the concert, with their "vocal play". Which can only be described as amazing, considering they made all the music with their vocals, instrument sounds included. They were very cool, very New York, and seemed very relevant in recent times with the popularity of the TV show Glee and the movie Pitch Perfect. They play the Sky City Theatre this Saturday, while Michael Bublé plays one more show at Vector Arena, Auckland tonight.