Idina Menzel World Tour- Page 2

[Gage2]

Posted: 8/18/15 at 1:03am

I attended the Seattle show at the Paramount theatre, one of her smaller tour stops (2,800 people approx).

I tried stage dooring before sound check even started, and she used an alternate entry to get inside the venue. Thankfully her production manager was sympathetic to my cause and took my 2 playbills up to her dressing room to be signed. These were the only autographs she signed that night, so I was very happy.

 

Concert review: outstanding vocals, both amusing and bizarre stage commentary, and a lot of onstage ego stroking. The fame is clearly getting to her head, whicg was alienating at times for even a longtime fan . Overall still a fantastic concert.

[LYLS3637]

Posted: 8/18/15 at 9:29am

Concert review: outstanding vocals, both amusing and bizarre stage commentary, and a lot of onstage ego stroking. The fame is clearly getting to her head, whicg was alienating at times for even a longtime fan . Overall still a fantastic concert.

 

That definitely was not the case at the three shows I saw on this tour. She's still incredibly humble and self-aware of how much "luck" has played in her career over the years. Not much has changed in regards to her "ego" since that first time I saw her in concert almost 15 years ago.

[IvyLynn]

Posted: 8/18/15 at 4:47pm

"Not much has changed in regards to her "ego" since that first time I saw her in concert almost 15 years ago."

That's generally the consensus I've gotten from those who have attended! Hope that's true. One of Idina's most admirable qualities is her down-home sensibilities and reliability. 

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 1:41am

I went tonight in Cincinnati. First off she sounded amazing some of the best vocals I have ever heard from her. I wish she sang this well when the pressure was on (Oscars, Tonys, ect.). But she did say a couple of off putting ego centric things. Maybe she was joking but it did come off rather odd. She kept bringing up that the Mayor had declared in Idina Menzel day in Cincinnati and that all was cute but she brought it up probably 10-12xs. The biggest annoyance was she started almost 40 minutes late which for an 8pm Tuesday night concert was really annoying and no apology or explanation was given. I have heard others say they've waiting almost an hour after the start time for her to come out. The crowd was aggitated and started several slow claps trying to get her out to no avail. Her vocals were amazing and I am glad I went but she did come off a little more divaish this time seeing her. 

[jennifer1128]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 3:49am

I was at her concert two weeks ago in Concord California and she also started 45 minutes late as well.  The audience tried clapping loudly numerous times to no avail.  From what I have been reading and seeing on twitter none of her shows start until close to 9pm even though the start time states 8pm.  I did not find her ego centric but I do not find her terribly fan friendly and I know at her concerts she has not staged door.  I think one must remember that its your fans who put you where you are.  You always have to remember your fans.  Just my opinion for what its worth. 

[Eirlys87]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 9:58am

I'll admit that I've been an Idina Menzel fan for a good 12 years now and have seen her perform when she has come over to the UK with her solo concerts - including on this latest tour. That being said I agree to some extent with some of the comments on here - not so much about ego (or perhaps it is ego) but professionalism with the being late issue. As far as I can work out I've seen her in concert 4 times and 3 of those times she was late on stage - and I'm not talking a couple of minutes, I'm talking 30-40 minutes where the crowd get very restless, start slow clapping and aren't far off booing. As much as I adore Idina I just find that so incredibly unprofessional. Each time it has meant the same thing - a distracting mass exodus before the end as she overruns and everyone has to go for their transport. So yeah, I really don't like that she does that pretty much every single time. It's unprofessional and disrespectful. Especially when she then goes on to single out and make a show of audience members who come in late when in fact she has only just shown up herself.

However aside from that I feel her 'diva moments' on stage are a bit of an act, a role she plays up which gets her some pretty big laughs so she plays it up even more - I always feel that she comes over as being really sarcastic and self depreciating during those moments and to me she feels at her most real and honest during Still I Can't Be Still and into her cover of Creep - the two most depressing songs on her setlist when she talks about some pretty personal things, I think they might be more of a representation of where she is at the moment rather than the diva-esque moments.

I think the biggest issue with this tour for me is how confused it is now she has 'fame' and so many different types of people at the concert (i.e. old fans, new fans, kids). The promoters have tried to market her to everyone including the 'come see Elsa from Frozen sing Let it Go!' crowd which includes parents and very young children who are then horrified when the she drops the 'F bomb' right at the end of her first song and talks about sex etc (I really cannot believe there isn't an 'adult content' warning when booking). But then later she plays to the Frozen kiddies when she turns children's entertainer and invites them all up to sing with her.

Despite the rather large amount of criticisms I've just mentioned I still really enjoy seeing her live, she's just got that stage presence where you can't take your eyes away from her and aside from the fact that she seems to have had a cold constantly since she started the tour in June vocally she really does sound great right now, probably the best I've heard her sound.

Updated On: 8/19/15 at 09:58 AM

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 9:29pm

I'm going to see Idina in Boston next week. Does she have an opening act? If not, does she start on time?

[madela2]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 10:21pm

pushdabutton said: "I'm going to see Idina in Boston next week. Does she have an opening act? If not, does she start on time?"

I was at the Chicago concert on Sunday. Show started about 15-20 minutes late. No opening act.

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 10:35pm

Good to know madela2.

Thanks for the response.

How was the concert?

[jennifer1128]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 11:45pm

No opening act and her show begins 30 - 45 minutes late.  But it is a great concert.  Amazing vocals.  Have a blast. I really enjoyed her show when I saw it a few weeks ago.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/19/15 at 11:50pm

Agree with the other comments: her show is outstanding (saw the Orlando show last month), but it is slightly annoying she starts so late. The Orlando show started at 8:42, for the record. 

[justherehanging]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 9:26pm

Attended this week 

I have seen her twice and in both occasions she was 30 minutes late.   Very rude!

She gives an amazing performance and I love her voice, but she had gone a little diva.  

[TFMH18]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 9:35pm

It's funny to me that people think Idina herself is responsible for the show starting half an hour late. Like clockwork, these concerts have started 30-45 minutes late and if you think that is anything other than an intentional move on behalf of her management, well, welcome to show bizz

[pushdabutton]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 10:34pm

I'm looking forward to seeing her and expected she would start a little late if there is no opening act. I've seen her three times before in concert over the years and she has always been great. I also saw her on Broadway in Rent, See What I Want To See, Wicked and If/Then.

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 10:42pm

justherehanging said: "I have seen her twice and in both occasions she was 30 minutes late.   Very rude!"

 

Do you ever see anyone else perform live at larger venues. No opening act always means a late start. A few acts will usually go the other way, and say the show will start on time... but that is just because of the common knowledge that people never start on time. Often, the delay is waiting until a certain percentage of the house has been able to enter the venue. Other times, that is just the start time no matter what...

[Pootie2]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 10:46pm

TFMH18 said: "It's funny to me that people think Idina herself is responsible for the show starting half an hour late. Like clockwork, these concerts have started 30-45 minutes late and if you think that is anything other than an intentional move on behalf of her management, well, welcome to show bizz

"

Judging by the Twitter activity throughout her tour, her average seems to be 30 minutes off ticket time. I think part of the problem in her apparent tardiness is that she has no opening act, which would take up that 30-minute block of time to "warm up" the audience or whatever. She probably doesn't have one due to cost. That means that big concerts with openers traditionally "start late" in terms of the headliner, but I've heard different theories as to why headliners don't usually start at ticket time. One theory is that venues that serve alcohol (and many/most of Menzel's appear to) want the patrons to buy more drinks, and they pocket that profit. I expect there are multiple variables affecting start time, however, including both her management and the venue owner, which may be the promoter.

I also wonder if audience expectations are different; for example, if many of her fans are theatergoers without significant experience in mainstream concerts, and theater generally starts on time. I did see a tweet a while back saying to the effect "a theater show would never start this late!" except that theater and concerts are different things.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 10:49pm

That wasn't actually a reply to TFMH18 but furthering his/her (um?) previous post. I see we posted about the same time. :P

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 10:49pm

Pootie2 said: "I think part of the problem in her apparent tardiness is that she has no opening act, which would take up that 30-minute block of time to "warm up" the audience or whatever. She probably doesn't have one due to cost."

 

That wouldn't change anything, though, as few headliners run out as soon as the opening act is finished. Sometimes changing the stage setup is even longer than 30 minutes. So, even if an opener started on time, the waiting wouldn't change, just get pushed back...

[adamgreer]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 11:04pm

TFMH18 said: "It's funny to me that people think Idina herself is responsible for the show starting half an hour late. Like clockwork, these concerts have started 30-45 minutes late and if you think that is anything other than an intentional move on behalf of her management, well, welcome to show bizz

 

"I completely understand it's an intentional move by her management team. That doesn't make it any less irritating.  

 

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 11:17pm

When I saw Guns 'n' Roses, their opening act started 90 minutes after the start time, and they started 3.5 hours after the start time. There were even signs posted warning patrons that the show would likely run longer than public transportation would be available to get back out of San Francisco.

 

Of course, they're known for that...

[Pootie2]

Posted: 8/20/15 at 11:20pm

haterobics said: "Pootie2 said: "I think part of the problem in her apparent tardiness is that she has no opening act, which would take up that 30-minute block of time to "warm up" the audience or whatever. She probably doesn't have one due to cost."

That wouldn't change anything, though, as few headliners run out as soon as the opening act is finished. Sometimes changing the stage setup is even longer than 30 minutes. So, even if an opener started on time, the waiting wouldn't change, just get pushed back...

"

I suppose the wait time may not seem as obvious in venues that serve booze, especially for people who go in groups. Regardless, people definitely shouldn't go to a concert expecting a theater schedule.

 

adamgreer said: "I completely understand it's an intentional move by her management team. That doesn't make it any less irritating.  "

It's understandable. I don't have much patience for the squishy edges of concert-going myself. However, let's not mistake a situation created around management/venue as Menzel's sudden ego-stroking power-induced diva attitude (I very much doubt that's the case, and social media has been *nearly universally positive about her stage presentation as "real" and down-to-earth, so I suppose it comes down to interpretation).

 

What I really wonder about is why this process isn't more transparent. In Menzel's recent Periscope Q&A, she said that she couldn't tour certain countries because the promoters there didn't believe she'd sell enough tickets--then immediately backed off, saying that her manager was going to kill her for saying that. But I thought that was common knowledge. Why hide the process?

 

*Nearly, with a few exceptions posted by angry parents because Menzel uses curse words in both banter and songs. But most of that blame lies with the promoter for choosing to frame her appeal as "voice of Elsa." On the other hand, what sort of parent buys not-cheap concert tickets to a two-hour concert on the strength of a single song? If someone actually assumed she would be singing two hours of Frozen, I have no sympathy.

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 8/21/15 at 2:17am

She started about 35 minutes late the night I saw her. I just assumed it was because they were waiting for the Sun to set a bit more so that it wouldn't ruin any lighting going on onstage. (Since the theatre was outside.)

[haterobics]

Posted: 8/21/15 at 8:21am

Elfuhbuh said: "She started about 35 minutes late the night I saw her. "

 

The show just started 35 minutes after your incorrect assumptions. She wasn't late. Not sure why this became such a surprise for the Fanzels. U2 started their concerts 25 to 35 minutes after the start time with no opening act on every date of their US tour. People who weren't getting there early to queue up just arrived at that time, since it was well-established online that was the case.

[Pootie2]

Posted: 8/21/15 at 8:48am

haterobics said: "Elfuhbuh said: "She started about 35 minutes late the night I saw her. "

 

 

 

The show just started 35 minutes after your incorrect assumptions. She wasn't late. Not sure why this became such a surprise for the Fanzels. U2 started their concerts 25 to 35 minutes after the start time with no opening act on every date of their US tour. People who weren't getting there early to queue up just arrived at that time, since it was well-established online that was the case.

 

"

Judging by social media, it's not primarily the "fanzels" who are complaining but older audience members, including those who brought children. One gets the impression they had never gone to a mainstream concert before in their lives.

 

[tombomb31]

Posted: 8/21/15 at 9:03am

I have never been to a concert that actually starts at the time stated on the ticket. If there is no opening act, especially. Traffic coming into the shows is normally horrible, as was the case when I saw Idina in Atlanta last month. I appreciate the fact that most artists give people time to get parked and make it to their seats before beginning the show. If someone has a problem waiting an extra 30 minutes or so for a show you've been waiting MONTHS for, then I question how big a fan you were to begin with.