Photo by: Miles Overn copyright © 2010
Rihanna’s “Last Girl On Earth” tour stop in Penticton provided her legion of local fans with everything they could possibly have wanted from the R&B songstress. This was a night unlike any other the Okanagan Valley has ever seen.From her entrance at the start of the show, all the way through the end of the encore, the performance and production values were exceptional. This young woman commanded the attention of her audience and never relinquished it during her 90 minute show, except during the 30 minute delay due to a technical problem about 30 minutes in. (A technical worker travelling with the band told this reviewer that 1 of 3 motors driving the hydraulics blew and had to be replaced for safety reasons.)Going through several costume changes against a similar number of stage modifications, Rihanna delivered song after song with brilliant showmanship to an audience that rose to its feet at the outset and never sat back down. Visually, the funkiness of the stage served as a three dimensional palette that the video and lighting technicians used to support Rihanna and the dancers that accompanied her on various songs. The mix of movement and light and effects, while extensive and executed with brilliance, always served as the backdrop for Rihanna’s own movement and vocals.Each of her band members and background vocalists displayed a keen sense of their being part of a major production, and “performed” while knowing that the audiences eyes would be on the star most of the evening. The few times one’s eyes left Rihanna, wherever they fell they were treated to a show within a show.This reviewer feels compelled to mention and salute Rihanna’s technical crew, the promoter, and the SOEC staff for their management of the downtime due to the aforementioned technical problems. The audience was kept informed of the nature of the delay and the time it would take to rectify it. Additionally, Rihanna and her band were beyond superb in their ability to bring the concert immediately back to the energy and performance level that was there before the interruption.Phenomenal concert, near capacity house, audience totally into it. Better than a 10 out of 10.
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