The Waking Up Laughing Tour - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Along with the tour's final success, the shows received further accolades from music critics. Timothy Finn (The Kansas City Star) was vowed by the premiere concert at the Kemper Arena. He comments, "McBride has earned her fame and made her fortune singing slicked-up modern country, but she is a traditionalist at heart, and she showed it resoundingly during those numbers; 'Stand By Your Man' was especially spectacular. But most of the feminine mystique came courtesy of country queen Martina McBride, the Kansas-born beauty whose crystalline vocal chords have earned her the nickname 'the Celine Dion of the CMT set.'" Brian Dugger (The Blade) viewed the performance at the SeaGate Convention Centre as "girl power" recalling, "But the night was mostly about McBride, who won points with the crowd by pointing out that she hasn’t been to Toledo in a while and promised that it won’t be as long for her return trip. At one point, after an extended ovation, she got a little emotional and had to take a short break until the crowd quieted down."

For the concert at the BJCC Arena, Mary Colurso (The Birmingham News) felt McBride gave a crowd pleasing performance. He furthers writes, "Fans expected no less. The lovely singer radiates a wholesome, friendly charm that makes her seem safe and utterly approachable -- the superstar next door, we might say. Interestingly enough, McBride was at her best while singing two vintage covers: Loretta Lynn's 'You Ain't Woman Enough" and Kris Kristofferson's 'Help Me Make It Through the Night.'" Additional acclaim continue with the concert at the Radio City Music Hall. Mac Randall (Newsday) answered, "McBride's voice is honey-sweet and stunningly pure, and when she leaps into her upper register and milks a note for every possible ounce of emotion—as she did on "Where Would You Be" and "A Broken Wing"—it's guaranteed to get a crowd on its feet. There's more than a little Celine Dion in those big climactic sustained notes. Although McBride began her solo career in the early '90s as a country singer, newer songs such as "How I Feel," from her latest album Waking Up Laughing, have more in common with Benatar than Lynn."

It was McBride's range that won over Marie P. Grady (The Republican) during the concert at the MassMutual Center. She explains, "As McBride raised her right hand high in the air—conjuring her vocal chords to reach the sky on a song called 'Where Would You Be'—it was clear this entertainer had the vocal range to match her star billing. Van Rose (The Times Leader) recalls McBride's voice being the highlight of the show at the Wachovia Arena. He continues, "Besides her amazing voice, one of the things that sets McBride apart from the rest of the country music singers is that she still possesses the enthusiasm of a newcomer. She put her heart and soul into every song and seemed to be genuinely having a good time. She also showed that she hasn’t lost her sense of humor. Before singing a duet with her younger brother on 'Trying to Find a Reason', a song off her new album in which she is joined by Keith Urban, she was able to make fun of herself. 'I feel kind of weird singing with my little brother' It’s sort of an Angelina Jolie thing'."

As the tour began its second and final jaunt in 2008, McBride received more accolades for her concerts. Kate Darby (Evansville Courier & Press) thought highly of McBride for her concert at Roberts Municipal Stadium. She further comments, "The most striking thing about the performance was how different audience members reacted to her music. McBride is so natural that she seems to be addressing each person as an individual, which is a rare trait in a performer. Every person in the stadium was having an intensely personal experience while still feeding off of the energy of the people around them." Jack Leaver (The Grand Rapids Press) continues the vocal praise for McBride for her performance at the VanAndel Arena. He writes, "Throughout the evening, McBride gave a powerhouse vocal demonstration, her Titanic-sized voice belying her petite 5-foot-4 frame. She also exhibited a great sense of humor, such as when she introduced her cover of Kris Kristofferson's classic "Help Me Make It Through the Night," which is featured on McBride's 2005 platinum-selling album Timeless."

Gary Budzak (The Columbus Dispatch) found the performance at the Nationwide Arena to be nothing short of "moving". He states, "There were other moving songs. On 'In My Daughter's Eyes', pictures of McBride's three daughters filled the back of her stage, and many mothers and their daughters held each other as she sang. The video for 'Concrete Angel' was shown as McBride sang about a child who was beaten to death, and many an eye filled with tears. Other anthem-like songs included 'Independence Day' and 'Anyway'." For one of her first shows in Canada in years, Theresa Taylor (Jam!) gave McBride's show at the Pengrowth Saddledome three and a half out of five stars. She composed, "It was a diverse concert for fans who got their money's worth out of the three-act bill."

The same rating was shared by David Schmeichel (Jam!) for the singer's show at the MTS Centre. He explains, "Partly, the illusion could be chalked up to an abundance of female fans in the stands (and on the concourse, where the lines snaking out of the women's washrooms were at least three times as long as those for the merch tables)." Mario Tarradell (Guide Live) commended McBride's show at the SuperPages.com Center. He elucidates, "But Ms. McBride is always the consummate entertainer on the platform. She's comfortable, vibrant, personable and a vocalist to respect."