Simpson reveals a more soulful side

David Adame/Caller-Times

Local fans of pop singer Jessica Simpson cheer her on Tuesday night during the start of her Dreamchaser Tour at the Concrete Street Amphitheater.

   Fresh from traveling with MTV's TRL tour with Destiny's Child, pop singer Jessica Simpson embarked on her own dream Tuesday in the opening performance of her Dreamchaser Tour at Concrete Street Amphitheater - her first show as headliner.
   With her new album "Irresistible" certified gold a month ago, the Dallas-born Simpson took the stage for more than an hour with her program, consisting of songs and interstitial material aimed at her target audience of about 3,000 giddy teens, tweens and obliging parents.
   Simpson's voice surprisingly had a gruff, urban resonance that doesn't come across in her recordings - 1999's "Sweet Kisses" and this year's "Irresistible" - which is a shame, because the throaty sound would truly set her apart from the other well-known and often-compared teenybopper divas.
   But the audience only was able to witness Simpson's more soulful side on the rare occasion she wasn't lip-syncing - an instance that was sadly obvious thanks to a troubled head-mic and an off sound system.

David Adame/Caller-Times

Jessica Simpson’s voice surprisingly had a gruff, urban resonance

   Not that her hardcore fans noticed. The youths ate up all of Simpson's anecdotes about following their dreams and falling in love. It would seem that Simpson is a veritable love goddess, given that at least seven songs of repertoire contain the word love.
   Simpson wasn't alone in her debut headlining performance. Back-up dancers, singers and a full band jammed along with Simpson through songs such as "I've Got My Eyes on You" and "A Little Bit."

David Adame/Caller-Times

Jessica Simpson embarked on her own dream last night in the opening performance of her Dreamchaser Tour. It was her first show as a headliner, she told the crowd.

   "You'll hear my old stuff and my new stuff," she boasted to the crowd, who kind of shrugged collectively, seeing as her major-label debut was only two years ago.
   Avoiding subtlety, Simpson told the crowd three times that performing for them was a "dream come true" - three times, alongside announcements welcoming everybody to her Dreamchaser Tour.
   In addition to music, Simpson must dream about clothes an awful lot. She changed threads about every other song, and her outfits varied from a white, sequin-laden funk suit, which was soon dropped to reveal a jewel-spiked bikini top, to skin-tight, black pinstriped pants with a matching (in both tightness and color) bustier. She and her dancers showed more belly buttons than a Barbara Eden convention.
   Late in the show, Simpson, known widely as a devout woman, sang an ode to her creator right before closing with the title track from her latest record; the sexy radio hit "Irresistible" proved to be the biggest crowd-pleaser.
   Just as Simpson is a second-tier pop star, she'll continue her tour of mostly second-tier cities, some of which, such as Joplin, Mo., Mankato, Minn., and Sioux City, Iowa, will feature her playing in mall parking lots. Eden's Crush, the manufactured girl band from The WB program "Popstars," and Plus One opened the show and will continue to tour with Simpson.
  
  
  
  

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