CONCERT REVIEW: MAXWELL Croons, Ladies Swoon at Charlotte Concert (Charlotte Observer)
Tonya Jameson | tjameson@charlotteobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Oct. 07, 2009
Clad in a black suit and dark shades, Maxwell gave thousands of screaming ladies exactly what they wanted Tuesday – a sensitive brother who would love them always.
The sultry singer pulled off a surprisingly strong performance at Time Warner Cable Arena. It wasn’t an easy feat, considering his five-album catalog is mostly comprised of love songs. Maxwell sings songs that set the stage for romantic evenings and wedding vows.
He made those candlelight songs fill the spacious arena with his soaring falsetto, a full band, which included a Chester native, and screaming fans. He gave songs such as “Sumthin’ Sumthin’ ” and “Lifetime” energetic arrangements to accompany his smoldering falsetto. Maxwell didn’t simply coo into the mic. He played with it, held it in the air so the audience could be heard as they sang with him.
The arena’s lower bowl was full, and much of the floor was taken up by the stage. It jutted out from the main stage into a wishbone. Fans stood around the edges of the stage trying to touch any piece of the singer as he slid, danced and sauntered past.
Maxwell turned the stage into his private living room and all 8,000 or so fans were at home with him. Gone was the too-sexy-to-get-down Maxwell who played Ovens Auditorium in 2001. Instead, he was playful and comfortable with his status as a sex symbol.
He sang old favorites, such as “Fortunate” and “Get to Know Ya” as well as “Cold” and “Fistful of Tears” from his best-selling new album “BLACKsummer’s Night.” He gave his hit single “Pretty Wings” star treatment, letting each word, each wrong and each heartache linger. When he finished, he murmured “I love you” and walked off stage. Fans yelled for more.
During the performance, which lasted nearly two hours, Maxwell switched his moods. Sometimes he was like a teenage boy. He flirted and grinned sheepishly. Other times, he channeled Prince. He dropped into splits, thrusted on the floor and on the mic stand, and talked dirty.
Even when Maxwell was being dirty, he was still a gentleman. At one point he asked screaming fans, “Am I being too nasty for you?”
This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 3:58 pm and is filed under Concert Reviews 2009. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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MARRISSA October 7th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
I can’t wait for Baltimore…