A standout from today’s mainstream artists, Michael Bublé’s style is refined and jazzy. It appeals to a variety of ages — from children to seniors. His music is less edgy than most songs played on the radio, but Bublé has managed to reach out to a distinctive niche of people who enjoy his Sinatra-esque, upbeat music.
Bublé was performed in Salt Lake City at the EnergySolutions Arena on Tuesday, one stop of many on his world tour.
Bublé’s performance was conservative but fun and his stage presence was charismatic and personable. He managed to connect with the crowd through intimate anecdotes about his personal life and through outright silliness. In response to Bublé the EnergySolutions Arena was filled with waves of laughter.
The opening act was Naturally Seven, an a cappella group relying on ‘vocal play’ as instruments. Like Bublé, the group extracted a lively response from the audience. Comprised of seven men, the artists used voices and microphones to produce sounds such as bass, drums, electric guitar and jazz instruments. They performed original pieces and covers of popular songs, such as Coldplay’s “Fix You.”
Part of Naturally Seven’s performance included a clip of 13-year-old Stevie Wonder when he performed in front of an audience for the first time. The group mixed old and new music in an intricate manner that appealed to both the older and younger attendees.
Bublé himself performed with energy and class, and his style shone through with each song. He wore a traditional black suit with a black bow tie, and his opening song involved erupting flames and a rising platform, which gave him a classy and ostentatious stage presence.
A self-proclaimed hopeless romantic, Bublé sang a portion of songs that dripped of sentiment and glorified love. During one of the tunes, he showed a short film that highlighted family values and couples in love.
Throughout the concert, Bublé created a special connection with the audience through humorous and friendly short speeches between songs. He acknowledged individual audience members, and even asked the entire crowd to sing happy birthday to an 83-year-old woman who was brought to tears by the gesture. At that moment, the EnergySolutions Arena became less of a crowd of concertgoers and more of a community through Bublé’s outreach and openness.
Bublé’s sense of intimacy and connection with his supporters further expanded when he introduced each member of the band as “Team Bublé,” and featured each person in a manner resembling the introduction of team players from a sport before a game. Laced within each introduction was pure humor and cleverness, and there was a clear sense of camaraderie between Bublé and his band.
The concert was lengthy, with a multiple-song encore, including a performance in which Bublé brought five children from the audience on stage and sang a cover of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got A Friend In Me.” He reached out to an older crowd with his family-valued approach, yet he also appealed to the younger attendees with his constant antics that were purely hilarious and enjoyable to watch.