I attended the Alicia Keys Tour last night and was very impressed. The show started at 7:30ish with her back-up singer Jermaine Paul opening with about 4 songs. Then followed by Melanie Fiona who put in a good set. She actually has a very nice voice and a great stage presence. Next up was Robin Thicke who I never really got into but he won me over with his stage show. He was having fun with it and that's always a plus. He did most of his hits and the spastic white boy dance during 'Shake It For Daddy'. Cool set. Then Miss Keys took the stage coming out in a cage and driving the audience wild. Highlights were her performances of Fallin', Put It In A Song (for which Beyonce showed up), I Need You (my favorite song by her) & the show closer Empire State Of Mind (yeah Jay Z showed up too). All in all it was a great show and having seen Alicia Keys back at Roseland when she opened for Maxwell she has come a long way in her stage presence and confidence as a performer. Definitely a tour to catch if you get the opportunity.

I was there too. EVERYONE knew that once Beyonce showed up for "Put It In A Love Song" that Jay Z would be on hand for "Empire State Of Mind" for the encore. As corny as it sounds, it felt so good hearing that song performed here at home in MSG by other NYC natives.

I also saw Alicia at Roseland opening for Maxwell (and later that week at The Theater at MSG) on his NY7 tour when it was just her and her keyboard on stage. She has indeed come a long way.

Cool, sounds like both of you enjoyed yourselves. I've been hearing positive things about Alicia as a performer for years from people who have seen her live. I would definitely like to see her in concert some day.
[Edited 3/18/10 13:01pm]

Alicia kicked ass, i was really looking forward to this show, and was glad i went, though i was sure i would like it, i was more impressed with her presence on stage than i thought i would be. Bey was good, Jay im tired of at this point, so his presence was a yawn for me, but understood his appearance there. Now im counting down to the a-ha shows in NYC.....

lastdecember said:

When she first started out touring for her first album she seemed nervous and uncomfortable being in the spotlight. Watching her now it's evident that she's now a confident performer and can handle being the focus of a large crowd. She also surprised me with the dance steps and actually getting away from the piano more often than I expected. I bought the tickets as a Christmas gift for a friend and they gave me the extra seat but I didn't really expect such a great show. I've never really gotten into Alicia Keys all that much. Just certain songs hit me more than the usual singles she pushes. She gained respect from me as an entertainer and an artist.