The Who in Brisbane – “The walloping crunch of ‘Who Are You’ followed, with Townshend showing off the razor-edged rhythm guitar style that only he and The Stones’ Keith Richards have perfected and kept alive.” – The Brisbane Times

Beyonce in Edmonton – “Add a rump-shaking ‘Freakum Dress’ and, three songs in, Beyonce – ahem, Sasha Fierce – was already in full-blown party mode, shaking her golden-sequined, bow-clad tush and flailing her hair about wildly.” – Edmonton Journal

Idan Raichel Project in DC – “Striking a range of musical, cultural and implicitly political notes, the Idan Raichel Project combines music from Israel, Ethiopia and other countries in that vicinity. Last night at Lisner Auditorium, the 10-piece group also sometimes ventured into rap, Afro-pop and Celtic jigs. Under it all, though, was a cinematic trip-hop style that recalled Portishead.” – The Washington Post / Post Rock

N.E.R.D. in Atlanta – “Encouraging students to get completely into it, the group managed to take the concert to an outrageously rowdy level never seen before on Emory’s campus. The crowd was eager to follow Pharrell’s set of rules including, ‘If someone is crowd surfing, you will hold them up.’” – Emery Wheel

Duffy in Singapore – “She cruised through her set effortlessly, and the money notes during ‘Delayed Devotion,’ ‘Stop’ and ‘Mercy’ were proof that she can really belt it out as hard as Janis Joplin or Sarah Vaughn if she wanted to. – Channel Asia News

Fleetwood Mac in E. Rutherford – “Buckingham shined on ‘Oh Well,’ as well as several other songs that gave him the opportunity to stretch out on guitar (‘Second Hand News,’ ‘I’m So Afraid,’ ‘Go Your Own Way’). Mick Fleetwood also took a long solo during the first encore, ‘World Turning,’ though he is really at his best offering propulsive support to the rest of the band, not pounding away on his own.” – The Star-Ledger

Great Big Sea in St. John’s, Newfoundland – “Great Big Sea needed little help last night at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Old-fashioned fun and stacks of strong material took care of the atmosphere for roughly 3,500 fans, and the St. John’s, Nfld.-based group made sure every ticket-holder in the place mattered.” – Times Colonist

Lionel Richie in Aberdeen – “Richie made it look easy during his show at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, effortlessly covering hits from a music career spanning almost 30 years.” – The Press & Journal

Ani DiFranco in Mobile – “And then came the main attraction, who immediately lived up to every aspect of the reputation she’s built since the ’90s: Fiercely genuine, fiercely opinionated, relentlessly open and, on the half-dozen or so acoustic guitars she played, a monster.” – Press-Register

Kings of Leon in New Zealand – “Those seeking fireworks, look elsewhere. Those seeking some bloody good rock ‘n’ roll, this is your band.” – The New Zealand Herald

P.J. Harvey in Los Angeles – “There was little banter during the 80-minute set — Harvey was wary perhaps of puncturing the heady dramatic space she’d created onstage. When one audience member responded with unexpected enthusiasm to her introduction of a song called ‘The Chair,’ though, she couldn’t help making fun of the exceedingly banal title.” – Los Angeles Times
 

Lady Gaga in Chicago – “Although Gaga is relatively new to the overcrowded pop music scene, she skillfully commanded her performance (literally at times with a lighted scepter) during her debut concert tour and early on showed there’s a new diva on the scene to be reckoned with. “ – Chicago Sun-Times

k.d. lang in Portland, Oregon – “Yes, she sang Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ last year and last night — and it’s a terribly overplayed song to start with, one that’s been played into the ground by too many hacks with cheap guitars. But when it’s lang, the song sounds new all over again.” – The Oregonian

Britney Spears in DC – “For 90 minutes, Miss Spears strutted, writhed and bounced around the stage on par with the best of her pop music contemporaries.” – The Washington Times

New Kids On The Block in University Park, Penn. – “Stopping into a college town might seem like an unusual step for a group who was popular when most of today’s college students were toddlers, but the crowd’s energy still stayed strong and the boys from the block fed off that liveliness.” – Centre Daily Times