Concert Review: George Michael, 8/2/08 at St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL - Page 2

Such was evident in the encore, during which Michael barely had to ask the audience to sing “Careless Whisper” with him. “Come on, Tampa,” he teased. “You know you want to.” The sing-a-long continued with “Freedom ’90,” which ended the evening.

Finding fault with the setlist, however, doesn’t diminish how well Michael performed, how appreciative he was of his audience, and how well the audience responded. Actually, the crowd at times seemed so enthralled simply by his presence, the man probably could have balanced his checkbook on stage and garnered a similar reaction.

“Not all of you will know it, but I’ll forgive you if you dance,” he said before singing “An Easier Affair” early on, the sentiment ultimately summing up the concert as a whole. An artist shouldn’t necessarily have to oblige his most casual fans, but given his two-decade absence from the American concert scene, George Michael could have offered a set more reflective of his success here.

Article Author: Donald Gibson

A contributing music editor at Blogcritics, Donald Gibson devotes most of his writing to music criticism, paying particular attention to the craft and aesthetic of songwriting. He holds a B.A. in English from the University of South Florida.
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