www.mcall.com/entertainment/lehigh-valley-music/mc-20160229-column.htmlREVIEW: Adam Lambert at Sands Event Center shows he's changed -- for the better -- since "American Idol"
Adam Lambert at Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Sunday (JOHN J. MOSER/The Morning Call)
John J. Moser
Near the end of his concert Sunday at Sands Bethlehem Event Center, singer Adam Lambert addressed the sold-out crowd of about 2,700.
“Don’t let anybody tell you what you can be,” Lambert said. “Tell you can’t do this, can’t do that.”
And yet, the reason Lambert’s concert was successful was precisely because he has changed – no longer the performer who emerged from his stint as runner-up on “American Idol” in 2009.
His singing was much more nuanced and controlled, his performance focused and intentional and his song choices coherent and almost uniformly good.
Much of that can be attributed to his new album, “The Original High,” released last June. Its songs are far more serious in subject and tone and its presentation consistent.
And Lambert performed eight of the disc’s 11 tracks, plus two bonus tracks that were among the best of the night (more about that later) in a 75-minute set that included 19 full or partial songs.
He opened with a run of those songs, starting with one of the lesser offerings, “Evil in the Night,” before the slower, nuanced and echo-y, and very good “Ghost Town”; the boiling and churn-y “Underground” with his voice rising like steam; and the slower and intense “Rumors.”
The run was broken only by the title track from his 2009 debut disc “For Your Entertainment,” which he sang in a lower register, far more restrained than the provocateur who scorched the 2009 American Music Awards or even the flamboyant performer who headlined Bethlehem’s Musikfest that year in his last area appearance.
Even when he sang Tears For Fears’ “Mad World,” the tune that turned the tide for him on “Idol,” it was softened, and an even better performance because of it – though he hit a high note at the end.
That’s not to say Lambert didn’t put on a show. He came out in a black-and-gold space suit, his hair blown back and frosted again, and was dancing free-form as early as the third song.
He changed outfits twice – to a light suit before “After Hours,” one of those bonus tracks and one of the night’s best, as he simmered slower and more controlled – then to a wildly colored jacket and shorts, with high black boots, for the end of the show.
He did choreographed dancing on the theatrical medley of the new disc’s “The Light” and title track and “Never Close Our Eyes” from his 2012 sophomore disc “Trespassing,” though the disco-beat songs were less engaging.
He even repeatedly thrust his pelvis and grabbed his crotch – to huge screams – has he hit high notes during “Fever” late in the show.
But on those occasions when he went to the mat – such as his singing to a wildly gyrating female dancer on the new “Lucy” -- it was a natural part of the presentation, fitting the song, and his four-man band and two backup singers were always with him. No more screams or shock for shock’s sake.
And the slower, more intense moments were easily as good: a strongly sung and played version of his biggest hit, “Whataya Want From Me,” offered surprisingly early in the show, or just him at the mic on a dark stage singing “Another Lonely Night” as laser lights shone around him.
He closed with a run of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance” – nowhere near the gravity of Bowie’s, but an earnest tribute – and the new bonus track “These Boys,” which was nice, warm dance pop that worked well and even fittingly let him go over the top as he danced, seemingly having fun.
The main set ended with an energetic “If I Had You,” before an encore of the title track from “Trespassing,” which segued into and out of “Another One Bites the Dust” – a tribute to his touring with Queen in a move that had not only boosted his career, but in many ways redefined it.
“Seven years – can you believe it?” Lambert said at one point, referring to the time since “American Idol.”
“Sometimes it feels like yesterday, sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago.”
For the 35-year-old Lambert, the maturation since then has made him a better performer.
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