Now that I've officially come down from the high and recuperated from getting in bed at 5am on Sunday I'm good, so here's my account of Saturday's concert...
The Bad
True to form for whatever reason, the concert started a little over an hour late and once the hosts took to the stage, the audience were informed that Silk didn't make it over from the US which resulted in some booing but, to be honest I didn't mind because they were not a personal favourite, and I thought at least that would leave more time for the other acts to finish their sets without being rushed off the stage akin to the previous Show's but how wrong I was!
BlackStreet 2 were bestowed the honour of 'Headline Act' this time around but, really only had about 30 minutes to complete their set by the end of the night. By now real music fans know Teddy Riley has been in the game for decades, co-written and co-produced numerous hits for several artists including the crème de la crème: MJ. We - Get - It and Done - Got - It. So as Bandleader, once he was informed at around 12.15am that they could do one more song, his best bet would have been to bring the entire group back on stage, do No Diggity and close with some grace instead of stretching out his one man show until they turned off his mic and keyboard before turning the houselight's on. I've appreciated the man's talent since the beginning (still do) and tip my hat off to him for paying tribute through performance to the likes of The Temptations and Jackson 5 (who were consummate live entertainers) because, there is no denying that Dave and Tony are vocal powerhouses or BS2 are tight performers, but he should have cut out the video montages and solo greatest hits medley that only served the purpose of self praise for his ego IMO.
The Corny
Though good enough, the hosts need to update their banter and 90's song selection for intermissions. So lame hearing almost the same things 3 Show's in a row but moving on to...
The Awesome!
Changing Faces: Although Cassandra couldn't make it, her stand in had a good voice and along with Charisse, the Ladies were professional and humorous as they got us all warmed up gliding through 'Foolin Around', 'G.H.E.T.T.O.U.T', 'All Of My Days', 'Other Woman' and 'Stroke You Up' for which they invited one very excited Brotha on stage! lol
Kut Klose: When Miss Athena Cage came out I must admit her outfit was a little distracting because I wasn't expecting to see a bejewelled brief area on her tiny shorts paired with shredded leather look type Hammer pants and a dookie chain but she owned it lol. It was evident some folks in the audience were unaware these Ladies were the voices behind 'Get Up On It', 'I Like' and 'Twisted' because they would sit during the intro for each track then jump up with each drop! I just wish they added 'Lovely Thang' to their set as the finale but their vocals were on point.
Mint Condition: Though they haven't had much commercial success here, these guys are bad azz musicians and Stokely is a true Showman who not only showed off his Jazzy vocal nuances on 'U Send Me Swingin', 'Breaking My Heart (Pretty Brown Eyes)', 'You Don't Have To Hurt No More', 'What Kind Of Man Would I Be?' and 'Forever In Your Eyes', he also tore the drums up and took the Show up a few notches.
Tony, Toni, Toné: Bar 'It Never Rains In Southern California' and 'If I Had No Loot', I'll admit Tony, Toni, Toné were the one act on the bill whose catalogue I was the least familiar with but dammit their musicianship was more than enough to keep me on my feet during their entire set! Excellent musicians is all I have to say. Plus their DJ added a little drop of old school Hip Hop flavour.
Total: Unfortunately missing Keisha but affectionately shouting her out during their set, Kima and Pam tore the stage up and took the energy levels even higher! Especially Pam who looked like her outfit was painted onto her - homegirl is ripped! lol. With the exception of two new songs (which also sounded good) the Ladies managed to keep the audience on it's feet during their entire set, delivering 90's classic after 90's classic; 'Can't You See?', 'No One Else', 'Kissin' You', 'Kissin' You (Remix)', 'Trippin', 'Sitting Home', 'What About Us?' and 'If You Want Me', in addition to their hooks from 'Loungin', 'What You Want' and of course 'Hypnotize'. Unbelievable knowing they only had 2 albums!
En Vogue: The real Headline Act IMO. Anybody still following these Ladies would have been aware that it was only half of the original quartet (Terry Ellis & Cindy Herron) on Saturday night but, with the super talented Rhona Bennett in tow their vocals did not suffer at all. They sounded strong and were serving some serious Motown poise and elegance dahhhling's! Even though they only performed Hold On, My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It), Free Your Mind and Don't Let Go (Love) from their own catalogue, they gave us (well me anyway) an added bonus as they paid tribute to a few Black Women in music who paved the way for them, via a Fierce medley which included; 'Bad Girls' by Donna Summer, 'Tell Me Something Good' by Chaka Khan & Rufus, 'Got To Be Real' by Cheryl Lynn, 'Ring My Bell' by Anita Ward, 'Proud Mary' by Ike & Tina, 'Best Of My Love' by The Emotions, 'I Heard It Through The Grapevine' by Gladys Knight & The Pips, 'Lady Marmalade' by LaBelle, 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' by Diana Ross and 'In My House' by The Mary Jane Girls (which I felt as if I was singing alone lol)
Overall it was a good live show but the organisers really need to make sure the mic levels are consistent at all times and more importantly; stick to a maximum of 5 acts only so that even if The Show starts at 7pm instead of 6, all acts on the bill can perform a full set without any of them tackily being rushed off of the stage...
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