Concert Review: ADELE is phenomenal live!

I first discovered Adele a few years ago when I saw her on VH1 promoting her first album, 19. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan of her music. She’s on tour now to promote her second album, 21. (Click here to read our review of 21!) So when I found out that Chicago was one of her tour stops, I jumped on that and bought tickets.

What’s really interesting about Adele’s fame is that she went from being mildly famous a few months ago to pretty super famous now. Hence, most of the venues she booked for her tour were smaller ones. Small venues are my favorite. They’re much more intimate than stadiums or arenas, and you can actually see and connect with the artist. In Chicago, Adele’s concert took place at the Riviera Theater, a small but sizeable venue. I decided to get there an hour before doors open, thinking I was smart and able to snatch an early place in line. Well… I got there and the line was already around the block! So much for being smart, but this was when I truly realized just how famous Adele has become.

After getting situated in some great balcony seats, I sat back and listened to the opening act, Plan B. I had heard of them but hadn’t listened to him. Their first song was “Writing on the Wall,” which happened to be my favorite song of their set. The British group was all nicely dressed with color-coordinated suits. The lead singer sounded a bit like Bruno Mars, and in some songs, he rapped which gave their music something interesting. They cracked jokes about how they weren’t representing birth control contraceptives, “We’re not baby killers!” They were one of the better opening acts that I had seen in a while.

A half hour after Plan B left the stage and the crowd went in a tizzy when they realized Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was in the house, Adele took the stage. With more screams and a bit of more rowdiness than expected, the crowd went wild. Adele started the set with “Hometown Glory,” a single from her first album 19. She crooned her way through “Don’t You Remember,” “Turning Tables,” and a few others. She stopped to explain how she came to write some of the songs, hoping that her next album won’t be as sad as this one.

She was funny and sincere. Every time someone yelled out “I love you!,” in a cutesy voice would reply back with an “I love you too.” Usually dressed in all black, she joked, saying that she decided to wear a little more color for us tonight, wearing black and white patterned tunic/dress with black leggings and heels. She sang through a few more of her songs, getting the crowd going with one of her most upbeat songs, “Rumor Has It.” Then calming down with songs like “One and Only” and The Cure cover “Lovesong,” in which she adds jokingly that her mom told her that she ruined the song.

She went on to sing two of my favorite songs from her first album, “Chasing Pavements” and “Make You Feel My Love” before she left the stage. But of course, we all knew she would come back for an encore. The encore set started with an acoustic version of “Someone Like You.” She mentioned that this song may be the one she’ll be most famous for, but she’s happy with that. Alone on stage, she played the guitar and sang the first verse of the song. Then her pianist got back on stage, Adele set the guitar down and started to sing “Someone Like You” all over again. At the chorus, she let the audience take the vocals, and I personally couldn’t have wished for anything better. Her final song of the night is the one that catapulted her into this new level of fame. She started “Rolling in the Deep” and everyone went wild. A lively and perfect song to end the night.

Adele’s concert is one of the best concerts I have ever been attended, and I have been to many concerts. She doesn’t need to dance and dress provocatively to put on a good show. She puts so much emotion in her voice when she’s singing that it renders you completely. I never cried at a concert before, but at this one, I did.

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Check out our photos of the concert on our Facebook page!

Here’s are a few of my videos from the concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxZMz9Fs7zc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTLZx5FeuzI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh4YdPToZH4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CECSMefIRA

You can see MORE videos of the concert on our youtube channel TYFofficial!

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