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Review: Sharing the spotlight, Canadian crooner Michael Bublé charms Rogers Place

Michael Buble at Rogers Place

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When Michael Bublé hears the word romance, he thinks of hockey arenas.

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The wry zinger, one of many comedic asides that the neo-swing singer dropped during his concert at Rogers Place last night, was actually quite apt. At this point in his career Bublé is well beyond playing small, intimate venues, which makes his ability to turn a 20,000-seat arena into just that all the more impressive. Well, maybe not romantic and intimate; how about lightly flirtatious?

The vibe was established right off the top with Bublé emerging from among his 34-piece band to sing Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley’s Feeling Good, from 2005’s It’s Time. Performing in front of and below a large, rotating screen that functioned as both video display and glowing red hellgate, the nattily dressed B.C. native launched into a 22-song concert that focused on his most recent effort, the Juno Award-winning Love. Not without a number of side steps into other tunes from his 10-album discography, of course.

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Like the irrepressibly bouncy Haven’t Met You Yet, a Manilow-esque slice of brass-driven pop that had a few people leap up to dance in the aisles. He didn’t let the mood stand, however. Next up was an ominous, inventively arranged My Funny Valentine, Bublé turning from that strangely dark moment to drop a quick homage to Cab Calloway before finding his way into the lush I Only Have Eyes For You.

He might only have eyes for his wife Luisana Lopilato but Bublé keeps them open for his fans as well. He’s a crowd pleaser, slapping hands and hamming it up for the audience. He grabbed an iPhone from one woman who was Facetiming the concert at the lip of the catwalk, and held onto it as he performed, realizing at a certain point (if he wasn’t kidding us) that the people on the other end of the phone were his sister and brother-in-law.

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Michael Bublé sings to the crowd on Monday, April 15 at Rogers Place
Michael Bublé sings to the crowd on Monday, April 15 at Rogers Place Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia

Just as he’s done at other shows on this tour, Bublé looked for someone to give his microphone to for a song, finally settling on a woman from Wetaskiwin who cajoled him into duetting on A Whole New World from the Disney movie Aladdin, piano and bass finding the chords halfway through as support.

It was a nice moment, but Bublé wasn’t done with sharing the spotlight. He generously gave over You’re Nobody ‘Til Somebody Loves You to one of his trumpet players, who then prowled back and forth on the catwalk while he sang, blowing hot licks as he wound the song up. It was all very Vegas, but in a knowing, winking way — light entertainment offered with minimum flash and maximum warmth. Bublé is a bit like a nightclub tester kit in human form, scattering snippets of Sinatra, Dean Martin (covering the mambo-drenched Sway), Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, all with an impish tone that kept the proceedings light and frothy.

The rest of the evening went down familiar pathways: a sweet shout-out to his grandfather with a Bobby Darin number, an easy rocking take of poor old Johnny Ray’s Such a Night, clincher versions of Cry Me a River and Just a Gigolo that had the audience in Bublé’s musical headlock. He might not be to everyone’s taste but the man can definitely shrink a hockey arena down to the size of a club by force of personality, even if the evening felt more like a friendly pat on the back than a romantic interlude.

Michael Bublé sings to the crowd on Monday, April 15 at Rogers Place.
Michael Bublé sings to the crowd on Monday, April 15 at Rogers Place. Photo by Greg Southam /Postmedia

REVIEW

Michael Bublé

Where: Rogers Place

When: Monday, April 15

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