Concert review: Alicia Keys at Allstate Arena
Alicia Keys performs at Allstate Arena. (Tribune photo by Chris Sweda)
Alicia Keys was working out with her dancers Wednesday at the Allstate Arena, hitting high notes while swiveling her hips in form-fitting silver pants and high-heels. Then an electronic billboard on her grand piano demanded, “Play me” – and Keys complied.
If that piano had kept talking, it probably would’ve advised Keys to stay right there. Whenever Keys took a seat, her concert took off.One of the best-selling artists of the last decade, Keys is a classically trained pianist with neo-soul vocal chops who is best served by keeping things small and relatively intimate. But in her concerts, she also tries to compete with spectacle-heavy peers such as Beyonce, Pink and Christina Aguilera.
At Allstate, the singer wasn’t content to stay in one place, let alone one style, for very long. Her 100-minute, 22-song set was a jumble of ideas that didn’t quite jell into a consistently powerful performance. When Keys stripped things down and gave her voice and fingers room to move, she was riveting.
Continue reading "Concert review: Alicia Keys at Allstate Arena" »