Super Diamond - The Neil Diamond Tribute Long Beach Concert reviews
“you might win some but you just lost one”
In the late 90’s during high school, I attended 2 of Super Diamond - The Neil Diamond Tribute’s shows: one at Great Woods in Mansfield and the other at the Wang Theater in Boston. She was the reason I fell in love with live entertainment. I knew every word of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and proudly sang them with her during these shows. She became an inspiration; her live performances were the ones that gave me goose bumps. Now in my late twenties, I have not heard anything from her in over a decade. So, of course, I was thrilled to hear that she was coming back to Boston. I invited one of my closest friends as a gift for her birthday, and we attended her concert on 12.20.10 at the Wilbur Theater in Boston. Doors opened at 8pm, and the ticket indicated that she was scheduled to go on stage at 9pm. There was no opening act; only 2 separate DJs performed. After waiting for over 2 hours for Lauryn, she finally took the stage around 11:13, 11:30. As it was a Monday, a work night, and the first snowstorm of the year, the audience started to become restless. She is no longer the confident rising star of my generation. She has turned into an insecure, power-hungry figure whom we left after 5 songs. Lauryn fretted over her hair, adjusted her skirt, and wiped the sweat off her face so frequently that her physical insecurities were obvious. She gestured to her background singers, pointed at the musicians, and appeared overall out of control. The music was so loud that the microphones squealed, and my ears buzzed the entire way home. None of this would have been an issue if she had put on a great show. Regrettably, she took her most famous hits, sped them up, and altered them so much that I didn’t even recognize them until midway through the song. She was shouting; it was a complete mess. I am extremely disappointed and must convey to Lauryn, “you might win some, but you just lost one.”