Michael Buble Toyota Center July 16, 2010
"I think Michael Buble speaks three languages: English, Sinatra and vagina," said the girl sitting next to us, who we will call Tammy, at the Canadian singer's sold-out gig Friday at Toyota Center. Walking into the venue that night, we would have said that he only spoke married-couple, but within the first five minutes of the show we were totally down with Tammy in the fullest.
She also made it known to us that it only took 30 seconds of seeing Buble onstage for her to become "fully hydrated." That being said, this is a fine time for Aftermath to remind you all that he is a gentleman, so you can fill in the blanks. She wasn't talking about thirst.
Buble, in a crisp yet scruffy suit in front of his crackerjack band, had the crowd gushing in their seats immediately. Pun not intended. There was spilled wine and smeared lipstick from the get-go, with Buble opening with the standards "Cry Me a River" and "All of Me." Both are old enough to have soundtracked the romances of some of the older couples in the crowd.
Aftermath was surprised to see elderly folks nestled in behind us, actually. Buble seems to draw almost every single female demographic there is. Parts of the crowd would have been at home at a John Mayer show, while others would have been perfectly ensconced at a Neil Diamond gig.
One couple standing in front of us took to making out for two songs straight; to each Tammy declared that they were going to do it in the bathroom or maybe even in the car. "Look! She's even wearing a skirt," said Tammy, not so obviously pointing at the couple. We agreed completely.
Buble kept the night light and airy, joking with the crowd every few songs about his new engagement and making sport of the fact that most of the men in the crowd probably assumed he was gay anyway. Buble knows that guys aren't supposed to like him, but that when it comes down to it, he's one of the best tools they have to woo a girl who is so inclined.
The singer does this gliding thing down an onstage ramp that was like catnip to some of the women assembled. The as-yet-unreleased "Best of Me" found him sitting alone next to the piano and was an early highlight. His short take on Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" was dorky yet endearing. The sight of him grabbing his crotch went over relatively well, to say the least.
