After deep-seated anxiety and weighty insecurities, Sam Smith may have finally found themselves.
When Smith emerged with the Grammy-grabbing 2014 debut "In the Lonely Hour," they (pronouns they/them) were compared to Adele. In Smith's third appearance in St. Paul, their show Wednesday night at Xcel Energy Center brought Madonna to mind. Smith's concert was undeniably sexy, highly emotional, delightfully danceable, a bit raunchy and ultimately liberating.
"Tonight is about freedom," Smith said early in the 90-minute performance. "Make some friends. Let's sing. Let's dance and take your tops off."
Freedom to love who you love, to feel vulnerable and sad, to feel seen and supported, to be who you want to be and celebrate it, to dress in gender-blending outfits and to follow your dreams.
Smith certainly seemed free and comfortable in their own skin for the first time on a Twin Cities stage. But the show may not have been everything the British star dreamed of.
At 31, Smith remains one of pop's most enthralling vocalists. Their gorgeous, reedy tenor was perfect Wednesday at selling sad songs, even if Smith seemed to be smiling too much delivering aching lyrics (or was it the incipient handlebar moustache that added glee to their visage?).
The biggest issue was the staging. A massive gold statue of a reclining Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, was splayed from one side of the stage to the other. That left little space for dancers, and, to make matters worse, the choreography was largely unimaginative and none of the six dancers would have passed an audition to perform with Beyoncé or Madonna.
As for Smith's own dancing, it suggested a slow-motion John Travolta parody, sort of like Wednesday night fever. No doubt, though, Smith was having fun. No more so than whirling to a recording of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love," taking their top off and waving it exultantly overhead to the Euro-disco beat. Comfortable in their own skin, indeed.
