1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

10. The Greatest Love of All

(Setlist is incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

(Setlist is incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

(Setlist is incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

(Setlist is incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation

9. Sack Full of Dreams (Performed by Gary Houston)

10. I'm Your Baby Tonight

11. The Greatest Love of All

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

(Setlist is incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

(Setlist is incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (With appearance from Cissy Houston)

9. In Return

10. Sack Full of Dreams (Performed by Gary Houston)

11. I'm Your Baby Tonight

12. Happy Birthday to You (Dedicated to Cissy Houston)

13. The Greatest Love of All

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation

9. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) / What's Going On (Performed by Gary Houston)

10. I'm Your Baby Tonight

11. The Greatest Love of All

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

10. The Greatest Love of All

(Setlist may be incomplete)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation

9. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) / What's Going On (Performed by Gary Houston)

10. Who Do You Love

11. I'm Your Baby Tonight

12. The Greatest Love of All

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation

9. In Return

10. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) / What's Going On (Performed by Gary Houston)

11. Who Do You Love

12. I'm Your Baby Tonight

13. The Greatest Love of All

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation (Contains elements of "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands")

9. I'm Your Baby Tonight

10. The Greatest Love of All

(Setlist may be incomplete)

If Friday night's event at The Ballpark in Old Orchard Beach had been a baseball game, it would have been postponed. But since it was a concert, the event went on, with those in attendance getting soaked, both literally and figuratively. The star attraction for the concert at the Seashore Performing Arts Center was Whitney Houston, performing on her 28th birthday, but the main presence of the evening was the 1 inch of rain which lashed southern Maine. But the bone-drenching rain wasn't the only damper on the event. Concert-goers faced traffic delays of up to an hour, with cars backed up several miles nearly to the Maine Turnpike exit, causing many to miss some or all of the opening act.

Three lanes of vehicles, from as far away as Minnesota, jammed into one street threading through the resort town. Then there was the unexplained and unconscionable 65- minute "intermission" between the opening act, After 7, and Houston's initial appearance. Any enthusiasm sparked by After 7 dissipated during the downpour. At this same time, the roofing over the stage had sprung leaks, which led to roadies trying to clean up the water with mops and towels. Undoubtedly, the conditions led in part to the show which followed.

A double staircase joined by a overhead catwalk at the back of the set was largely unutilized. During the show, Houston made reference to technical problems, and it's quite likely other songs choreography were scratched from the program as well. But the problems with Houston's show went beyond those already mentioned. One was the briefness of the show, a little more than an hour or about the length of the intermission. For a $24 ticket, those roughly 6,000 in attendance got to hear Houston sing eight hits, or less than the contents of any of her three albums.

She ignored such hits as "You Give Good Love," "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do," and "Take Good Care of My Heart." Then there was Houston's performance style. The possessor of one of pop music's greatest voices, especially when she's improvising, Houston nonetheless isn't yet a great performer. Her interaction with the audience was minimal at best. Concert-goers could have felt the same rapport with one of her albums. As for her dancing ability, Houston is not Paula Abdul.

Her style can best be described as "beginning aerobics," with a few half-hearted kicks and jumping jacks. Houston was at her best when she stood still and emoted. These moments came on her ballads, including an extended "Saving All My Love for You," which had an almost gospel-like fervor; and the touching encore "Greatest Love of All," during which a few members of the audience swayed, their hands held high. The other numbers were more of a mixed bag. Houston, garbed in a black monogrammed blouse and tight black pants covered by a brown bomber jacket, started the night off with "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." She playfully substituted the line "chase this rain away," which got a roar from the wet crowd.

Those close enough watched Houston on stage, while the majority of the audience viewed the event on two big closed-circuit screens on either side of the stage. After the backup singers carried the melody through "So Emotional," Houston came back with "Saving All My Love for You" then jumped into the infectious "How Will I Know?" That number was strangely capped with a pair of rap verses from a Duo is well worth the extended wait Saxophonist plays 'lovesome' riffs Whitney Houston After swooping and soaring on the ballad the "All the Man That I Need," Houston kicked up the tempo with "My Name Is Not Susan." One highlight of the evening came when her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, unexpectedly came on stage, singing first a verse from the Carpenters' "Close to You" before leading the band and the audience in "Happy Birthday." Whitney Houston was congratulated by all the members of her entourage, including her unidentified boyfriend. Houston closed out the regular set with a sizzling "I'm Your Baby Tonight," and went out with a bang as fireworks exploded from the set. After her trademark encore, she left to a partial standing ovation, as her soggy fans went home to dry out.

One exciting discovery for many audience members was the opening act After 7, who are kind of a family affair for Houston. Kevon and Melvin Edmonds are brothers of Babyface, and Keith Mitchell is a cousin of L.A. Babyface and L.A. are one of Houston's favorite producing teams. After 7 got the evening off hot and fast with their hits "Ready or Not," "Can't Stop," "Heat of the Moment" and "Don't Cha' Think." The trio alternated singing lead vocals and smooth harmonies, and all three had great dance moves.

(The Bangor Daily)

Whitney Houston may not have Aretha's soul, but she wrings every bit of life from what she has. And for the Top 40 groupies who filled Great Woods to bursting last night, that was just fine, thank you. In a show spiced with predictable flash, Houston put her incredible voice to work, giving an eager audience what it came for and in her best, unscripted moments setting the rafters atremble. Pop icon that she is, Houston possesses an astounding instrument, a voice that soars, swoops and sizzles with what looks like very little effort on her part. It's a show in itself, and the glitzy staging quickly becomes secondary.

No matter how elaborate the lighting, how blinding the garb, how intricate the choreography, Houston wins with her warble. Every time.

WHITNEY HOUSTON At: Great Woods, last night; repeats tonight injecting new life into a sing-along stanza or holding a note and working it to exhaustion. She tries her best to stay mainstream, but sometimes the cage proves too small. It's soul in carefully measured doses.

After all, we wouldn't want to scare anyone. "So Emotional," "Saving All My Love" and "How Will I Know" were all barely contained versions of the radio-airplay familiars. Houston managed to bless each one with a little heat. Houston, succumbing to the Vegas in all of us, underwent a few rapid-fire costume changes during her performance. She was wrapped in a green gem-splattered sheath for a "Love Medley" that included "Didn't We Almost Have It All" (which deserved a full airing), a snippet of "A House Is Not a Home" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go," another song that begged to be worked.

The now-inevitable gospel segment was a highlight, as Houston's backup testified with fervor, bringing a power to the proceedings that the main attraction for all her good intentions couldn't match. "Revelation" was just that, as Houston unleashed all the fire in her voice, and the audience got as close to heaven as most audiences get. Whizzing into another outfit, Whitney capped the night with the bouncy "I'm Your Baby Tonight," and the schmaltzy "Greatest Love of All," during which children's innocent faces flashed on the video screen, tugging at a few susceptible heartstrings. Houston flashed her gleaming grin, wiggled photogenically, inserted a few dramatic pauses and left everyone thinking that soul couldn't get any better. We know better. But why bicker?

The diminutive crooner, bedecked in a white rhinestone and pearl encrusted jumpsuit, opened the show with a string of hummable ditties, all easily recognizable. "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" led the onslaught. The understated backdrop included musicians and backup singers in muted tones, and it was evident that Houston was supposed to provide the glitter. Rappers, lent a bit of kick to "How Will I Know," but Houston for the most part played it safe, so safe that one audience member uttered what is for many the ultimate compliment: "Wow, she sounds just like the record!" She didn't.

Houston's roots are in gospel, and for that reason her voice won't sit still. Sometimes her body can't keep up as she breaks loose.

(The Boston Globe)

It is hard to believe that there is such a thing as a concert being too live, but Whitney Houston's concert Saturday night might have been just that. During her concert at the Music Hartford Houston Civic review Center, used her powerful, soulful voice to change and stylize each song often to the point where the tune was unrecognizable. She rephrased and recast each ballad so that the melody lines were buried and one could sing along. "All at Once" and "Didn't We Almost Have It All?" were hit the hardest.

It was too bad. Houston, as everyone knows by now, has an incredibly emotional voice, which, when used right, can be stirring. When her voice is used wrong, Houston sounds like just another singer with strong vocal Music review Houston's voice was not at its most powerful. She often seemed to be stretching for notes and there was a hint of laryngitis when she sang and spoke. But she had her moments.

The faster dance songs were more honestly and powerfully presented and, therefore, easier to listen to. "How Will I Know?" and "I Wanna Dance With Somebody" were bouncy, fun and well-staged with the help of four male dancers and a huge video screen televising the concert for the unlucky fans in the nosebleed seats. "I'm Your Baby Tonight" was the highlight of the show, with Houston belting out the melody and her tight backup band providing a driving beat. Her set was not much longer than an hour, including two tunes featuring only her band. Perhaps this is more testimony that Houston may have been under the weather.

The banter with the audience was typical, but sweet. The show was so COLOR "nice" that Houston even gave the state a boost. "I love Connecticut. I think it's one of the most beautiful states," Houston told the audience. I bet she says that for all the states.

After 7, a soulful male singing trio from Indianapolis, opened the show with an impressive set, featuring from the group's first album, songs titled after the name of the group. The singers danced to each number in unison, with hand motions and steps reminiscent of the Temptations or the Supremes. The music was well-done, highlighted by the band's four hits, including "Ready or Not." "Can't Stop" and "Nights Like This," from the movie soundtrack for "The Five Heartbeats." The sad part of this concert was that After 7 played for almost as long as Houston and the group's set, at times, was almost as well-received by the crowd.

(Hartford Courant)

We were looking forward to the Whitney Houston concert at Finger Lakes Performing Arts Center on July 30. We left early to get a decent spot near the concert shell and paid $17 each for our wet grass area. When we tried to enter the grounds there was a huge line due to a thorough search of everyone's personal belongings, including coolers, bags and blankets; plastic bottles, containers, etc. were removed and thrown in large garbage bins.

Once in, we waited hours in the rain for the concert to begin. At 8:05 p.m. a rock band came on stage and played until 8:35 Then we listened to recorded music until 9:30 p.m. Whitney Houston came on stage from about 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.

There was a problem, though. Due to the configuration of the concert shell, you were fortunate to glimpse even a part of the upper torsos of anyone on stage. I don't mind the rain or the grass, but I do resent the personal search of my private property. Also, I resent paying all that money to see the people around me and their lovely umbrellas rather than Whitney Houston or any other entertainer.

The concert shell is for the people under it and does not benefit anybody else.

(Democrat and Chronicle)

Saturday night wore a party hat at the 1991 Coors Light Riverfront Stadium Festival. Each act beginning with Kathy Wade and ending with show stealer, Maze, featuring Frankie Beverly, but not headliner Whitney Houston was the life of the party. Bogged down in ballads, Houston's show-ending set was too sedate for Saturday night. Moving as if she had too much starch in her Spandex and singing as she is, a model turned vocalist, she never got loose and joined the party. The happy feel of the festival's finale was a welcome change from the event's opening night.

(The Cincinnati Enquirer)

1. I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

2. So Emotional

3. Saving All My Love for You

4. How Will I Know

5. All at Once / Didn't We Almost Have It All / Where Do Broken Hearts Go / Say You Love Me (Contains elements of "A House Is Not A Home" and "Anyone Who Had a Heart")

6. All the Man That I Need

7. My Name Is Not Susan

8. Revelation

9. Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) / What's Going On (Performed by Gary Houston)

10. Who Do You Love

11. I'm Your Baby Tonight

12. The Greatest Love of All

Pop superstar Whitney Houston played the Spectrum Friday night, offering the surprisingly small crowd a program so slick they could have staged the Ice Capades on it. The concert comprised music that can best be described as "market research soul and dance-pop for the mainstream audience whose artistic sensibility is defined by the culture of the 1990s. Houston, who played to at least 5,000 empty seats, turned in a technically proficient but bland set. She took the grittiest, most honest form of pop music rhythm 'n' blues and wrung all the juice out of it. What was left was a perfectly executed but uninvolving and safe form of soul -based pop that was perfectly suited for the middle-off-the-road loyalists whose behavior ranged from polite to lethargic.

A perfect example of Houston's failure was the song "All the Man I Ever Need," from her latest album, "I'm Your Baby Tonight" (Arista). She delivered the ostensibly steamy line, "He takes me down and rocks me" with all the heat of a McDonald's jingle singer celebrating the joys of an Egg McMuffin. Like those of her megastar fraternity sisters Janet Jackson and Madonna, Houston's show was heavily choreographed. But here, too, the result was less than satisfactory. Her four-man dance troupe performed generic synchronized maneuvers.

Unlike Jackson and Madonna, Houston seldom got into the action. When she did, it was easy to understand where the TV show "In Living Color" was coming from when it did the "Rhythm-less Nation" parody of her. Still, Friday's program wasn't totally devoid of merit. Houston's vocals were generally above average; she effortlessly handled octave glides and extended notes. And her seven-piece band was needle sharp.

Less successful was the fourpiece vocal group that included her brother Gary. He and the three women were frequently shrill. Also noteworthy was the striking stage set featuring a catwalk and moving platform and the animated, interesting computerized light show. As for the material, the highlight of the evening was an extended medley of ballads that included snippets of "All At Once," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "Still In Love With You" and "If Somebody Loves You." The sequence was ingeniously constructed and, at times, Houston hinted at some real emotion. But even this segment was a little too neat.

Houston also had something good going during the gospel number that doubled as the introduction of her supporting cast. It was obvious here that songs of faith are Houston's true forte; she showed more real emotion during this part of the show than she did at any other time. However, whatever momentum she and her team built with this number was killed by the follow-up piece, an uninteresting solo turn by her brother. Also on the bill was After 7, a popular vocal trio that recalls the classic soul of the 1970s. The act impressed with their sultry ballads and groove up-tempo numbers.

(Courier-Post)

Dancing detracts from Houston's powerful voice WHITNEY, From C1 who danced, rather suggestively, with her four male dance partners? Or is it the softhearted woman who brought a deaf teen-age girl onto the stage to sign the theme from "The Greatest" for an encore? Will the "real" Whitney Houston please stand up! Best bets say that it's Whitney No. 2 the one who delivered "All At Once," "Didn't We Almost Have It All," "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" and "All The Man I Need" with incredible intensity.

As she closed her eyes and threw back her head in a state of euphoria, she wasn't just showcasing her vocal range or soulsinging ability, but more of her true heart and soul. You just can't ask for more than that. But there remain two parts of the dancing Whitney that constitute the "Rhythmless Nation." Houston has admitted in interviews that she doesn't like to dance. It doesn't take 15 seconds to realize why. Then, the question remains, why does she? Especially in fourinch heels? With pipes like hers and make no mistake about it, the refrain in "All The Man I Need" was the most inspired vocal performance you will hear in this or any other concert seats that feeling of having something that can operate on several levels at once a voked rap music. No silly sideshow of four slinky male dancers. We saw, for a brief period of time, just how great she could be. She isn't Madonna. She isn't Janet Jackson.

She's Whitney Houston, and her beauty has and always will be her voice and her way with a chorus. All she needs now is for someone who is in charge to tell her.

(The Evening Sun)

Some of us can only imagine what it's like to be young, talented, beautiful and filthy rich. Some can't even do that (especially the beautiful part). But Whitney Houston doesn't have to imagine anything. All she has to do is look in the mirror. And why is that? Who knows, maybe she was a possum or something in a previous life.

And this is the pay-back. Whatever, things not surprisingly are going pretty well for the 28-year-old New Jersey songbird. They have been ever since 1985 when she began launching salvo after salvo of chart-topping singles and multimillion-selling albums, not to mention those groovy MTV videos and that shot at singing The Star Spangled Banner at this year's Super Bowl. She didn't do the image any harm Wednesday, either, when she brought her bad self to Blossom Music Center vowing to be our baby tonight. She was, too, sort of, strutting the aforementioned assets with a sassy poise that left little doubt she is as aware as anyone of her monumental good fortune.

Wrapped in a sequined, shocking-pink body stocking fused like snakeskin to to her sinewy frame, she sashayed into the spotlight like she was entering a throne room and joined in progress the show opener, I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me). Backed by seven instrumentalists, three vocalists and a quartet of acrobatic hoofers, she jumped right in, limbering those almighty pipes with the kind of spine-tingling effect normally associated with women named Aretha, Patti and Tina.

Along with everything else, the woman can sing. Really sing. And she proved it in no uncertain terms Wednesday. Although there's a kind of reserve in her stage presence (like maybe the getup was too tight), the words and music flowed with uncommon resonance and emotion. There is a natural confidence in her singing that imparts a sense of well-being an instinctive knowledge of the why and how of what she's doing that embraced the big crowd like moonlight filtering through a summer breeze.

Although the proceedings, opened by a half-hour plus set from After 7 (Can't Stop) got underway about a 30 minutes past the appointed 9:10 p.m., Houston wasted little time in delivering what the estimated 16,000 came to hear, offering such hits as How Will I Know, All the Man I Need, Save the Children and I'm Your Baby Tonight, in rapid succession. A reading of So Emotional elated the assembled multitude before giving way to a satiny pass at Savin' All My Love that evoked a collective sigh and knowing nods from the more romantically inclined. Heck, even those surf punks with the Frisbee seemed to swoon a little. Or maybe it was just that body stocking.

(The Akron Beacon Journal)

(Review is glitchy)

After Whitney Houston It was obvious Houston has more Cultural Center. I overcame the bugs at Deer fun performing new hits, such as Creek Music Center Friday night, it I'm Your Baby Tonight and All the The second of seven programs in was evident that she has not lost Man, than she does her oldies. the "Music on the Greensward" any of her stage presence. As an example, Saving All My outdoor concert series will feature At first, Houston seemed a little Love would have been better had it the Magic City Music Men. 

not been spiced up in an attempt to Organized in 1983, the 48- apprehensive atop her contemporize it. member chorus forms the Muncie platform stage Houston closed with Greatest chapter of the Society for the because of Love of All, featuring a gorgeous she blue sequined dress, which was her Encouragement Preservation and of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in several, as kind fifth outfit of the evening. America. Nationally, there are 816 said, "large bugs, the Opening act After 7, which with 38,000 members. you have to kill, features three Indianapolis natives, chapters not swat at," provided the Deer Creek audience Tuxedo Junction, a quartet were milling with some great sound and comprised of members of the around her.

helped get the audience in the swing chorus, will be featured in tonight's She opened HOUSTON of things for what was yet to come. program, which begins at 7:30. with I Wanna Dance With Somebody, and the pace stayed Cultural Center Concert Admission is free. In case of rain, fairly brisk until she sang several If you like the sweet sound of the concert will be held Wednesday. love ballads in the middle of the 90- minute show, which was performed before a near-capacity audience.

(The Star Press)

Lighters burned and hearts churned before Whitney Houston glided onstage Thursday night at Starwood Amphitheatre. When she appeared and began singing Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me), the tension of the eager crowd more than 8,000 in attendance was transformed into aisle-to-aisle cheering, clapping and, of course, dancing. Whitney, initially clad in a flamboyant, form-fitting outfit, set the tone for the rest of the evening with her second tune, So Emotional. The sizzling singer managed to cover the broad spectrum of human emotions in little more than an hour, and during that time she sang only a dozen or so of her more popular songs.

On tour for the first time in three years, Whitney owned the crowd for the whole of her somewhat abbreviated performance, and she seemed to know she had the audience's undivided attention. "Are you all enjoying yourselves?" she asked confidently before moving into an extended version of Saving All My Love For You. This piece possibly displayed her singing prowess better than any other, with Houston exploring the full range of her voice before completing the song in a chillingly sweet soprano. As to be expected of a tour supporting the third multi-platinum release of an artist, the stage productions were unnecessarily elaborate and, at times, even repellent. Maybe Houston's management feels a need to bombard the audience with special effects to compete with the extravagant concerts of her pop peers, but they actually detracted from many of her more upbeat songs.

It was apparent the audience came to hear Whitney, not to watch four plastic-looking dancers going through their routines or to see slow-motions shots of the keyboard player on the video screens. The former model could have stood solely on the strength of her next songs How Will I Know, Didn't We Almost Have It All and the new All the Man I Need and My Name Is Not Susan, instead of relying on her collection of showy outfits. Her fans would undoubtedly have forgiven her had she worn less formal attire and used the time she spent changing clothes to sing a couple of ballads left out of her set, like Where Do Broken Hearts Go and You Give Good Love. She showed her spiritual side with a trio of gospel ballads delivered with heartfelt sincerity. Much of the audience cheered when she asked who believed in miracles and then launched into her most recent religious work, Miracle.

One of the three songs, I Believe, was written by her mother, Cissy Houston, when she was the leader of Elvis Presley's backup group, the Sweet Inspirations. The audience rose to its feet when Whitney broke into her latest hit, I'm Your Baby Tonight, before leaving the stage amidst a roar of fireworks and a flurry of lights. The crowd continued to clap and scream until the star reappeared for a heart-wrenching encore performance of The Greatest Love of All. The highlight of opening act After 7's set was Nights Like This, from the movie The Five Heartbeats.

(The Tennessean)

Whitney Houston offered a threeact musical extravaganza to a mere 5,054 ecstatic fans at the Greensboro Coliseum Sunday night. But she sang and performed as if she were entertaining a standing-roomonly crowd at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Act One opened with purple lights flooding the high-tech stage and a swelling orchestral build-up. Back-screen images of Houston's toothpaste-advertisement smile foreshadowed her appearance as the music of "I Wanna Dance (With Somebody Who Loves Me)" whipped up the audience. Houston herself materialized in a slinky black bodysuit covered with silver sequins clustered over the vital areas of her anatomy. Stiletto heels accentuated the lanky singer's model-like proportions and height. Four dancers clad in all black hurled themselves around the stage as Houston sang up a storm and then fell at the singer's feet while Bill Moore teaches English at Greensboro Day School and plays the blues in' his spare time.

Music Review the crowd roared its approval. Aside from the dramatic visual spectacle, Houston's singing was gorgeous, and her 11-piece band's musicianship was outstanding. "So Emotional" was just that: overwhelmingly passionate and satisfying. And contrary to Houston's sometimes awkward stage movements during her 1987 visit (when more than 12,000 fans showed up), the singer can really dance now! Houston regularly participated in the routines of her four MTV-style dancers, sometimes showing off her moves on the balcony that jutted out over the band. "Saving All My Love For You" slowed down the musical pace, displaying the full richness of Houston's beautiful voice as the she reached the high notes and embellished them.

Houston's voice has always been her greatest asset, but now her acumen as a performer has caught up with her original gifts. Act Two, after a rap interlude, presented Houston in a purple formfitting velvet gown. Houston relaxed and chatted with the crowd, sang a medley of popular songs, and posed dramatically, hands over head. "All the Man That I Need" overwhelmed the audience emotionally again. After an instrumental break, to prepare the way for Act Three, explosions introduced Houston's funky hip-hop mode with "My Name Is Not Susan." Houston now sported black velvet shorts and a silver bikini top.

She threw in a few gospel tunes, moved into an autobiographical ballad and then hit the crowd with the up-tempo "I'm Your Baby Tonight." The audience was up on its feet dancing and cheering. The successful show closed with fireworks. The satisfying encore was Houston's trademark rendition of "Greatest Love of All." Members of the crossover audience received more than their money's worth for their $22.50 tickets. Houston was simply overwhelming as a singer, as a mature performer and as an entertainer who can share an emotional jolt with her audience. Pop-soul fans who stayed away last night should deeply regret their decisions.

(News and Record)