Alicia Keys, live at the O2

This evening in the O2 Arena, special guest Miguel and I have the same idea, albeit reached from different perspectives. His accidental booting of a front-row fan as he danced wildly at the Billboard Awards still fresh in the memory, I’m glad to be watching tonight from the balcony. As for the San Pedro artist, he’s happy crooning his liquid nu-soul from atop the static safety of a seat near his band, lest he get too carried away. Of course, after serenading the growing audience for over 30-odd minutes with his minimalist, sensual and funk-inflected soul, he can’t stay still much longer.
‘Adorn’, his gorgeous breakout hit, triggers him into action, as he eases into some Jacko moves – whilst keeping a sensible distance. It’s an infectious finale, as the D’Angelo-meets-Marvin stylings of the backing give him free rein to flex his vocal chords. An exit that leaves the right impression, and one of the highlights of the night full-stop. Alicia Keys, however, is not one to be upstaged and ensures tonight is a “big show” in every sense of the word. Perhaps that’s the problem.
Arriving onstage looking typically stunning, it’s quickly apparent that this will be a kitchen-sink affair, designed to hit all the arena concert marks effectively. We have Twitter hashtag announcements for those who want a song dedicated to them, cheesy set pieces, and pianos appearing from various different parts of the stage for no apparent reason. Ms. Keys is far better when she’s simply tinkling the ivories and singing her heart out, with video close-ups of just that proving far more captivating than, say, the tacked-on ballet that accompanies the otherwise hypnotic, Prince-esque ‘Like You’ll Never See Me Again’.
She rolls out a troupe of male dancers, but leaves most of the choreography up to them. The song-and-dance thing doesn’t suit her, so why is she trying to half-heartedly echo Beyoncé? The sublime ‘Listen To Your Heart’ is undone by a weird back-and-forth where Keys plays a waitress phoning a guy for a date, and her calls for people to get their cellphones out because “this is a special night” would have been more affecting without prior knowledge that she says those exact lines at every show. That a video projection of Jay-Z gets one of the biggest cheers speaks volumes.
Thankfully, her songs carry the day, and her caramel, restrained-yet-emotive voice can floor you when it’s allowed to fly. A double whammy of ‘Try Sleeping With A Broken Heart’ and ‘Falling’ stand out, with the latter confirming that she’s never lost her ‘Piano Woman’ tag and nor does she need to. ‘Empire State Of Mind’ is a modern classic and a brilliant end. It’s just that a smaller room with only Alicia and her keys has the makings of a perfect night (unsurprisingly). This is a professional night. Flawlessly executed but oddly lacking in effect.