It was apparent from the opening vocal run on her debut single “Vision of Love” that Mariah Carey would be a game changer within the music industry. Nearly thirty years after she essentially began her career with a mic drop (and more than 15 years since her last visit to St. Louis), Carey gave a sold-out crowd at Stifel Theatre an enjoyably curated snapshot of her catalog that stretches genres – and at this point generations.
Carey holds countless records– and can be considered a legend with respect to contributions to the Pop, Adult Contemporary and R&B charts. But recent live televised performances called Carey’s abilities as a live performer into question. Carey seemed to be using her latest tour to prove that she still has the chops. In the same way that she captured the undivided attention of music as a teenager, The Caution Tour reminded her fans that not only does she still have it, but she’s not going anywhere.
With a prolific list of chart-topping albums and singles, Carey could have kept the audience there all night. But in 90 minutes she gave a set of about 20 tunes that included fan favorites, a few selections from her latest album – which is the namesake of the tour – and songs she simply seemed to enjoy performing. The audience was diverse as Carey’s catalog, but it was clear from the spin session of her official DJ Suss One ahead of her show that the Caution tour would be a night with heavy emphasis on R&B.
He paid tribute to Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Luther Vandross and Marvin Gaye before getting into a mix of songs that the urban music lovers among her fan base knew word for word – including Rick James, Soul For Real, Tevin Campbell and Notorious B.I.G.
In grand diva form, Carey emerged in a sequined evening “ensemble” and carefully made her way down a two-level staircase while performing “A No No” from her latest album “Caution.”
The opening tune and “Dream Lover” follow up had a Vegas residency feel. Carey looked and sounded great as she let fans know that she can still pull off those F#7 notes that set her apart from her vocal powerhouse peers early on in her career throughout the performance of “Emotions.”
Though some fans might have been a bit disenchanted that they didn’t hear more songs, few would argue about the caliber of the performance – or vocal quality. A grand scale show with a handful of wardrobe changes, backup dancers and a full band, Carey meandered through dance tracks, ballads and midtempo. Carey’s attention to her popular remixes of “Fantasy,” “Always Be My Baby” and “Heartbreaker” was a pleasant surprise.
As a token of gratitude for the #JusticeForGlitter efforts, Carey thanked fans personally and gave a medley of songs featured on the album from the film in which she starred – including “Last Night A DJ Saved My Life” and “I Didn’t Mean to Turn You On” that went full disco with a roller dancer with a glitterball helmet.
As the tour name suggested, “Caution” would be the only other album to get more attention than one or two tracks. Along with the opening number, she performed “8th Grade,” “GTFO” were among them.
“Vision Of Love,” “My All” and “Anytime You Need A Friend” were among the best of the slow tunes. “Always Be My Baby” – made even cuter by a surprise appearance by her twins Monroe and Moroccan towards the end of the song – “Dreamlover” and “We Belong Together” were best in show for the more upbeat selections.
Carey closed the show with “Hero” and fans probably wanted to hear more songs. A few additional tracks – particularly from her self-titled debut and the “Emancipation of MiMi” album – would have been the tipping point to take the Caution Tour experience from really good to great.
