Hard Rock Rocksino – Northfield OH
Forever Our Girl!
My first time EVER seeing Paula Abdul and I was on a musical high! “Straight Up Paula!” is her first headlining tour since 1992! She promised to make it an amazing performance and that she did! For the original fans who have missed her and to the newer fans who didn’t know much about her history, she takes you thru a timeline of her career and journey from Laker Girl to choreographer to American Idol. Paula Abdul told her story thru song, dance along with AMAZING visuals.
The production showed she put in much time and a lot of work to make this an event her fans would remember! For those that always wonder if she still has the moves?? YES! The choreography was on point! She looked gorgeous, the dancers were great, the set was outstanding. I heard later that my show was a bit different from the previous tour stops. Of course, I wouldn’t know but maybe she removed a couple of elements that may not have resonated with the audience? The ‘new’ segments (I’m so glad I witnessed) included the dance sequence to Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” which Paula choreographed, as well as the African tribal dance scene from the film “Coming To America”
The best part for me was actually meeting and having a brief chat with Paula! She has such a warm, positive vibe with such an infectious smile that you cannot help BUT be in a happy place! It was truly a personal highlight of the whole evening. Besides wishing the show was much longer, the only complaint factor was the VIP situation. It was not very organized, the wait was wayyyyyyy too long (1.5hr) and it created a delay (20min) in starting the show.
Set list included: “The Way That You Love Me” “Knocked Out” “Opposites Attract” “Cold Hearted” “Rush Rush” “Blowing Kisses in the Wind” “The Promise of a New Day” “Crazy Cool” “Straight Up” “Forever Your Girl”
