Michael, in a black suit and looking fit, moved with equal parts elegance and funky charm. He spared no expense in terms of staging, performing on an enormous curved stage that doubled as a video screen. His equally large band - including six backup vocalists - was spread out on three tiers of scaffolding.
Promoting his recently released career retrospective "Twenty-Five," Michael seemed to enjoy throwing himself back into even the oldest songs - perhaps one perk of the long layoff - and like the man himself the tunes have aged well, suffering only a smidge of that unfortunate "ah yes, the '80s" keyboard sound. (Michael did use a teleprompter, although he didn't appear to rely on it.)
Since at heart, even during Wham!'s most day-glo phase, these were soul songs, even nostalgic trifles like the Motown stomper "I'm Your Man" and the liquid bouncer "Everything She Wants" stood up as solid pop constructions. The tracks from Michael's solo career fared even better, as the tough dance edges of "Hard Day," the silky smooth "Father Figure," and the glorious gospel pleader "One More Try" rang out confidently.
Some fans might have traded a few of the covers and lesser-known tracks for a couple more hits - "Go-Go," "Monkey," and "Praying for Time" didn't make the set list - but each had its charms, with a jazzy version of the Police's "Roxanne," accompanied by footage of the red-light district of Amsterdam, sliding elegantly into "Kissing a Fool."
Throughout the evening, Michael was gracious and self-deprecating, offering big thanks and asking for forgiveness for his tardiness. Due to the late start he was still performing as we were typing, and he finished up with a jubilant version of "Freedom '90."
Michael has made noises about this being his last tour. That would be a mistake.
