salt lake city show

Here are a few of my thoughts on the performance in Salt Lake City:

Madeleine's performance at the Salt Lake City Arts Festival was probably the worst musical event I have ever witnessed.  She trotted out on stage, made no eye contact with the audience, and began complaining--she complained about the sound quality, the presence of other musical events going on at the same time, the lack of audience participation, and on and on.  The performance itself was quite lackluster. She almost seemed to be mocking herself as she labored through the setlist.  I was sitting up front and watched her as she chewed out the guy on the soundboard.  She seemed oblivious of the hundreds of fans eager to hear her perform, and she smuggly complained throughout the whole show, finally ending about 10 minutes early.  Good performers are typically able to improvise and "roll with the punches," if they confront poor lighting, sound, etc.  Setlists are modified and accommodations are made to please the crowd.  But pleasing the crowd and putting on a good show seemed to be about the last thing that Madeleine Peyroux wanted to provide.

It seems such a great shame that you felt let down by Madeleine's performance.   I have become an avid fan and have had the privilege of seeing her perform on a number of occassions and have never been disappoionted.  In past performances I have marvelled at her seemingly effortless ability to perform in a very understated manner but with the most sublime result.  Yes Careless Love is a great CD but I have always maintained she is the one artist that you should see live.  It is true there is no artifice, no affectation - just a pure and captivating voice.  Madeleine's unaffected stage presence is what is most beguiling and in its simplicity is extremely appealing.  What is so welcome is precisely the fact that she is not a diva - she is not an egotist - just a very compelling performer.

I regret that Madeleine was in your view not on form, perhaps if you look at her gruelling schedule - she is overstretched and as a result was under parr.  I sincerely hope that you will have the opportunity to see her again.  In the meantime continue to be enthralled with her album and do not let one performance dissuade you from the fact that - what you get on the album is what you can also get live ... and in my experience infinitely more sublime. 

Hope you get to expereince this sometime.