Concert Review: Kelly Clarkson at The Beacon

As Idol Thoughts reader (and friend) Josh R. reminded me today, it's been an almost unforgivably long time since I saw Kelly Clarkson perform at The Beacon Theater in New York City, and I have still not blogged about it. What kind of Kelly fan am I???

Well, here goes...

I've been to every tour Ms. Clarkson has been on, starting with the American Idol tour back in '02, continuing with her shared tour with Clay Aiken, and all the way through her two stops in support of Breakaway. So, basically, I've got some context for critiquing this most recent stop, which, I think, gives me the ability to honestly say...

I loved it!! I mean, really, really loved it.

Straight up, I'm a big fan of My December. I'd be lying if I said that I loved every song on the album ("Hole," "Yeah," and "One Minute" are probably my least favorites), but I think some of the songs, especially "Sober," "Maybe," "Be Still" and "Can I Have a Kiss," are some of the best songs Kelly has ever recorded. Performing in an intimate venue like The Beacon was the perfect setting for the live performance of some of these tunes -- they are extremely personal songs, and by performing in a smaller space, Kelly was able to really connect with both the music and her audience at the same time. She didn't perform "Can I Have a Kiss," but her renditions of "Maybe," "Sober" and "Be Still" were just as stirring, if not more so, than the album versions of these songs. And even though I skip them when they come up on my ipod, both "Hole" and "One Minute" were much better live than they are on disc.

Then, of course, there are her multitude of hits. Between "Since You Been Gone," "Behind These Hazel Eyes," "Because of You" (sung with just an organ and with the 3,000 fans as her backup singers), "Walk Away," "Miss Independent," and "Breakaway," the reaction from the audience was absolutely electric. In fact, a friend texted me right after the show to say that I looked like a pogo stick, I was jumping up and down so much!

She also threw in a couple of oldies-but-goodies, like "Addicted" and "Gone," neither of which were singles but both of which were welcome surprises to her set.

The highlight of the show, though, may have been her cover of Patty Griffin's "Up To the Mountain," which she had originally sung on Idol Gives Back. The soulfulness she brought to the gospel-esque tune was simply breathtaking. I was mesmerized.

Throughout the concert, Kelly sounded spot on. No, I take that back -- she sounded better than spot on, she sounded un-freakin'-believable. The fact that she is able to hit high note after high note, night after night, is remarkable.

She also seemed like she was actually having fun, something that was not the case the last time I saw her perform, back at Jones Beach last year. This time she was smiling and chatty, was visibly moved after the audience's ovation following "Because of You," and seemed especially playful during an encore version of "Chivas." It's clear she really likes performing her newer music.

And I really enjoyed hearing it.

So, the death of Kelly Clarkson as popstar has been seriously exaggerated -- she's alive and well, and killin' them across the country. If you haven't picked up your tickets yet -- do it!