Class Act? No. Tacky, yes.

This morning I was reading one of the boards that I frequent when I noticed that someone had posted a short review of a concert they saw last night. I was really surprised to read it - and the responses - because they were so different than my opinion of the same artist when I saw him in concert.

I love going to concerts, though Caradorn and I don’t go as often as we used to. Usually when I see a group in concert I end up liking them even more than I did before. Peter Noone, Gaelic Storm, and Nickelback I liked before I saw them in concert but loved afterward. The same with The Guess Who, Kool and the Gang, Van Halen (with Sammy Hagar), Phil Collins, Sting, Squeeze, Phish, Edwin McCain, Steven Curtis Chapman, Kiss, The Waiting, Aerosmith, and many others.

There are some exceptions to that, though. I liked Collective Soul till their concert - but (and this was probably a bad night for them; I’ve heard plenty of good reviews of their concerts) they were awful when I saw them. I’m not a big fan now. The same goes for Fuel, The Turtles, KC and the Sunshine Band, and George Clinton.

Caradorn and I went to see Michael Buble in Birmingham a couple of years ago. We enjoy his music quite a bit. The concert was interesting. First I must explain that the audience was mostly women. I knew he had many admirers but I hadn’t realized the extent until the concert. It was just crazy - the women were screaming and crying and trying to touch him. It was like he was Elvis or the Beatles or something. I spent as much of the concert watching the crazed fans as I did watching him. I just really don’t get it.

Now I am married but I’m not blind. I can appreciate an attractive man when I see one. (Though of course none are as attractive as Caradorn! ) And on paper I guess I should like Michael Buble, since he sort of sounds like my type. Really though? No. Not my type at all.

He reminded me of one of those little Bantam Roosters, strutting around the stage talking about how wonderful he is. Seriously. He kept comisserating with the men in the audience, telling them how sorry he was that they got dragged along by their wives and girlfriends. Which irritated me, but wasn’t that big of a deal. But THEN . . . he started with the bicycle metaphor. Ugh.

He said, to the men, that they shouldn’t be upset that their women were getting so worked up over him, because "I put the air in the tires but you can go home and ride that bicycle all night."

Okay, well, ick. Just ick. Here’s this cocky little guy gloating to the men that their women are wanting him but that they get the consolation prize later. Eww.

I like him much less now than before all that. It was just obnoxious. And he complained about the type of music he sings for a big part of the time. Don’t like it? Fine - Don’t sing it. Don’t keep complaining about it and keep singing it, though.

It’s not that I mind confidence or the premise that someone is a total ladies man - I love Hathaway at the Adventurers Club. The difference? He’s a fictional character! And what is cute and funny from a character is decidedly less so from a real person.

I still like his music, and I will admit that musically the concert was very good. His band was great. Buble himself was so annoying, though, that I won’t be sorry if I don’t see him perform again. (And for me, that’s a big deal - normally I’m trying to get tickets to the next concert as soon as possible.) One of the reviews this morning called him a real "Class Act". Unless he’s changed in the last couple of years I would really disagree. Talented performer? Check. Great voice? Yep. Class Act? Nope.