Yes, we were there – and she was there, too! Luxembourg was well worth the trip. Not only for the concert but also because it’s a beautiful, very interesting city! The capital of this little country has a lot to offer and quite a few UNESCO sites!
As Luxembourg city is the only bigger city around, we were so sure that the concert would be taking place in the capital that we didn’t even have a look where exactly the venue was until a day before the show – just to find out that it was NOT in Luxembourg city but in Esch-sur-Alzette. Luckily the train connections were good and so we managed to get back and forth without any bigger complications.
The Rockhal is not a very big venue with a capacity of 6,500 people. Thanx to an Early Entry Ticket, we were able to make it to the front row easily. At half past seven, a DJ started to play for 1,5 hours. According to official information, Mariah was due on stage at 21.15. But it got later and later and the show didn’t start. Finally at a few minutes to 10, Mariah’s voice sounded through the hall – but only to tell us, that she had just arrived, delayed due to heavy rains in London. She asked us for another ten minutes to put on her ensemble and get ready. Well, of course she needed twice as long, but finally the show started with “Fantasy“.
This tour is a greatest hits tour, so unfortunatly there were no songs from her newer albums like “Me. I am Mariah“, which I like a lot. They tried to squeeze in as many hits as possible, ending up with a long medley of “I know what you want“, “Obsessed“, “It’s like that“, “Shake it off“, “Loverboy” and more that you couldn’t even breathe deeply – especially if you sang along as loud as we did in the first rows. Of course she also gave us some of her trademark ballads like “My all” or “Hero“. For “I’ll be there” she not only duetted with her traditional partner Trey Lorenz, but also let little Michael Jackson sing one of the verses while showing his videos and pictures on the screen. A second moving tribute was done for Whitney Houston for their duet “When you believe“.
Unfortunately, some songs that were part of her program during the UK leg of the tour like “One sweet day” were omitted – maybe because of the delay. But that way the show became really short. “Without you“, which probably was supposed to be an encore, was just played without a necessary encore break and the lights in the arena were switched on bascially the second Mariah was off stage after just 75 minutes. Good concerts always are too short but for this one I had the feeling I was just getting into it and then it was over again. I wish she had taken a little more time!
I could listen to Mariah forever because her voice is so unique and versatile! She never ceases to amaze me live with her vocal abilities. I wouldn’t even need these show elements during her concerts, she could just stand there and sing and that would be enough! Her songs are among my all-time favorites. I basically love all of her songs and some of them have accompanied me through difficult times. That’s why I think she’s really underrated as a songwriter because most people don’t even know she writes most of her songs herself. She’s one of those rare talents that we have so few left today, these legends that people start taking for granted until it’s too late… I’m soooo much looking forward to see her again in Munich in 2 weeks!
music, the world & me 