CONCERT REVIEW: …He Still Has Got IT (Chicago Sun-Times)
Maxwell performs at the United Center on Thursday night. (Oscar Lopez/For the Sun-Times)
’90s neosoulster Maxwell shows he still has got it
REVIEW | Offers a Chicago theme freestyle at United Center
BY CHERYL V. JACKSON cjackson@suntimes.com
Maxwell’s still got it.
And he rolled up his sleeves and poured it all over the stage of the United Center on Thursday night.
••The cool.
Entering to “Dance With Me,” a suited and shaded Maxwell struck poses and teased “You ain’t even checking me.” (He was wrong.)
••The heat.
Images of smoke set the scene for a steamy “Bad Habits.”
••And everything in between hits “Sumpthin, Sumpthin,” Lifetime” “Fortunate,” “Pretty Wings” and “Simply Beautiful (as images of Al Green were displayed. He’s still alive.) A standout selection was “A Woman’s Work,” meeting the anticipation built by its long intro.
One of the few ’90s neosoulsters still filling arenas, the New Yorker is touring to support his first CD in eight years.
Thursday’s 90-minute production saw him inspire us to do good one minute (“Help Somebody”) then threaten us with an X-rated good time “Till The Cops Come Knockin’”) the next.
Maxwell followed rapper Common, who enthralled with his own work, as well as offered bits of classics (Tribe’s “Bonita Applebaum” L.L’s “I Need Love,” Biggie’s “Juicy.”)
“This is hip-hop,” he told an audience who seemed thankful for the reminder.
We were thankful for the reminder.
The love was mutual between the audience and the Chicago native.
Common wowed with a Chicago-themed freestyle, referencing Harold’s Chicken, Stony Island and Derrion Albert, the Fenger High School student whose fatal beating has spotlighted violence among Chicago youth.
Halfway through his set, he traded his sweater and tie for a T-shirt promoting local black men’s health clinic Project Brotherhood.
Among those backing the rapper, singer Bilal provided for a jazzy take on “The Light,” and a DJ showed off awesome cutting of Biggie’s “10 Crack Commandments.”
“Universal Mind Control” had our guy breakdancing, complete with windmills.
One gripe — only a line from “I Used to Love H.E.R.”?
Really?
Chrisette Michele opened.
Maxwell’s more elaborate setup allowed for fun; ascending a staircase, gliding down another there, busting out in double splits or sitting in the middle of the stage.
With voice and person, Maxwell worked different levels — all of them next.
This entry was posted on Friday, October 9th, 2009 at 12:37 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.
bebee October 9th, 2009 at 6:27 pm
I too was at the Chicago concert and as usual Maxwell was OUTSTANDING!!! He knows what his fans like and he gives it to us! The dance he did with LaTina was a new nice touch to the show. So, now I am contemplating where will I fly to next to see him again!