THE COME AS YOU ARE TOUR 2004 - NEWS THREAD

[Wendell]

Since the first tour thread is already full with 7 pages of dates and all, I wanted to make up a new thread for the real happenings of the tour. For each concert date, I hope we can all find photos, news, reviews, fan experiences and all in this thread so that we can all find it.

I hope the moderators will allow this and help me sticky it, thanks!

Concert Kickoff date is TOMORROW, April 30th in CHICAGO!

[Wendell]

Well... I just wanted to post to say thanks to the moderator who helped me sticky the thread!

Tonight's show! Have fun guys!

30/04/04 Chicago, IL, USA: Vic Theatre

[Vicious]

Ow, and don't forget the contest on Nelly Central

Have fun everyone !!!

[NELSTAR XO]

great idea... I wish a date to mexico ...

[lynda]

Originally Posted by Wendell

Well... I just wanted to post to say thanks to the moderator who helped me sticky the thread!

hey Vic that's a good idea for a comp! Pity I can't participate! lol
But yeah nice one!

hehe no worries!

[Wendell]

CHICAGO REVIEW

Furtado turns on the charm once she gets her balance

May 2, 2004

BY ANDERS SMITH LINDALL

Born in Canada to Portuguese immigrant parents, Nelly Furtado makes no secret of her hybrid identity. It's reflected in her Grammy-winning hit, "I'm Like A Bird" (with it's lyric "I don't know where my home is"), and it's evident in her eagerness to blend pop, soul, hip-hop and Latin styles.

Onstage at the Vic on Friday, though, Furtado was trying to strike a different sort of balance: between the compulsion to push her sound in half a dozen directions at once and the comfortable allure of just being a pop star.

She wasn't shy about admitting it, either. "I am not a one-trick pony," she sang in her set's opening song. "I really feel nothing can hold me."

Over the next 90 minutes, Furtado sang out brassily, vamped sassily, lilted into falsetto and even rapped (well, sort of). Behind her, a six-piece band got busy, the drums and bass chattering out rhythms, keys twinkling, the DJ (her husband, little Jaz) scratching, guitars nicking funk licks or hitting broad pop chords.

In the early going, though, Furtado seemed tentative, pacing more than she danced and not really singing out. But she quickly found her footing, cruising through "Explode" -- a catchy chronicle of teenage misadventure from her current album, "Folklore," released last November -- and then reaching back to her debut for "I Will Make U Cry." By the time she barked out the chanted chorus of "Fresh Off the Boat," the singer had found her full confidence.

That's when her winning personality came through, too. Flashing an easy smile and some fancy footwork, she turned on the charm. During the crowd favourites "Try" and "I'm Like A Bird," she was quick to point her microphone toward the balcony.

But the teen-queen act was just a facet of Furtado's performance, and not nearly so captivating as a mid-set sequence that moved from bubbly Brazilian rhythms (as Furtado sang in Portuguese) to Colombian pop (Spanish) and wound up with a contemporary soul ballad (English).

Through it all, the crowd was keener on Furtado's radio fare than her denser new songs from "Folklore" (which features guests like the Kronos Quartet, Caetano Veloso and Bela Fleck). That's not surprising, but it's a balance that Furtado will continue to be challenged to maintain.

Anders Smith Lindall is a local free-lance writer.

[nellypants]

oooo great review!!! thanx