Laima Vaikule chose her favorites
A series of concerts by the Latvian singer Laima Vaikule with the program “Into the 21st century - with loved ones...” has ended in Moscow.

“Today I want to be different - bad, good...” - this is what Laima Vaikule said after she sang the first song. The audience supported this idea with applause, after which the curtain closed, a man in a tall hat and bright gloves came out and articulated a soundtrack in which a thunderous voice announced the theme of the upcoming concert: tequila, sea, gringos, beauties and, finally, deceit and love. Two words lit up above the stage - “Laima” and “Miami”.
The first part of Vaikule sang about tango. This word dominated the lyrics, the corresponding outfits changed and the ballet that accompanied her. The singer hardly spoke to the audience, and as a result, the entire concert became one show, beautiful, thoughtful and atypically stylish for the Rossiya concert hall, where everything took place. It looked like a good cabaret or music hall. The musicians, almost invisible in the far corner of the stage, played wonderfully; the singer gathered them in all three Baltic countries. Somehow, amazingly, we managed to stage wonderful dances, not annoying, not pretentious and very sultry. The singer was hugged, lifted above her head and generally spun as she pleased by slender dancers dressed in gangster fashion of the 30s. Dancers sometimes wore short black wigs, following the same fashion. Vaikule sat at the table with them and smoked cigarettes in a long thin cigarette holder. Sometimes, when it was time for the singer to change clothes, the girls filled the pauses with separate dance numbers, which were pleasant to watch. There was also serious eroticism, especially when Vaikule was left alone with one dancer.
Things weren't so good with the songs themselves. The lyrics were so-so, and the music before the intermission, although played well, was rather monotonous. Maybe because it was composed by the composer and prominent businessman Igor Krutoy, who, together with Valery Leontyev, came out to congratulate the singer and gave her not flowers, but a basket of food and some kind of bottle. In the second part, it was time for old hits - those very favorites that the singer took with her into the 21st century. When “Hey, Sailor”, “Vernissage”, “Take your time, dear” sounded, everything became very good. The singer was not released from the stage for a long time, but Laima Vaikule did not sing for an encore, but simply thanked the audience for coming to the concert. True, she did this in monstrous pink trousers - apparently she was tired of work clothes.
YURIY-YAROTSKY

Newspaper "Kommersant" No. 15 dated January 30, 2001, p. 13