Neil McCormick reviews the London leg of Rihanna's 777 tour at the HMV Forum in Kentish Town. 


Rihanna's usual live environment is the arena, in shows heavy on spectacle and costume changes. Arguably the hard dance beats and over the top rock posturing of her band are better served in this dingy, beery 2000 capacity rock venue where she is launching her new album, Unapologetic. But first, a word from her tour sponsors. "Everyone say ACT, say Budweiser, say River Island" the American star instructs her fans in an act of shameless commercial cross marketing. But then, like most modern pop stars, Rihanna is essentially a brand herself.
Her appearance in London is part of what may be the most exhausting promotional junket in pop history: seven concerts in seven nights in seven countries on a 777 jumbo jet filled with fans and journalists. The music industry may be suffering collapsing revenues but Rihhana still enjoys the kind of multi million selling popular success to justify such old fashioned extravagance.
In white pyjama and black bra ensemble, she looks surprisingly fresh for someone globetrotting on such a punishing schedule. But then her performance isn't actually that demanding.
Along with three backing vocalists she has preIrecorded vocal tracks that she essentially spins off and adds flavour to.
Her dancing too is coolly unstrenuous, strolling the stage, stroking her body salaciously, like a cross between a runway model and a stripper. In this relatively low production, costume changes are limited to a gradual shedding of the little she started out with. I have previously compared Rihanna shows to an erotic review in an aircraft hanger. This was more like a lap dance in a pub.
Despite her image as a kind of fiesty, sexy, self-empowered modern woman Rihanna is, essentially, a very old fashioned kind of artist. The hardest working woman in showbusiness, she has released seven albums in as many (or few) years in the midst of relentless touring and promo activity. It probably helps that she's not particularly involved in the actual music creation, recording vocals to producer-fashioned tracks on the road.
Rihanna has enough charisma and vocal ability to stamp her personality on a wide variety of material, spanning.

reggae, rock, ballads, anthems, hip hop and techno bangers. It is particuarly appealing when she adds rhythmic and vocal twists and nuances reflecting her Carribean heritage. But the key to her live appeal is surely how much she seems to enjoy herself, smiling broadly throughout, sticking her tongue out at fans and generally carrying on as if her sixth show in as many nights is the highlight of her existence.

It all goes briefly wrong during techno banger Where Have You Been, when she suddenly calls a halt to proceedings. Maybe jetlag is to blame for uncharacteristic tetchiness.
"What the **** is that? Why is the track off with the band? This is the **** you have to deal with on a rock 'n' roll tour!" But she is soon back in sync and on message. "Unapologetic is in stores right now" she reminds us.

 

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