The following is a brief review of The Grammy Museum Charity Concert held at The Nokia Club in Los Angeles, CA December 2, 2009. Enjoy!

Ethiopian Love & Greetings to Maxwell and Maxwell music lovers. As a native of Ethiopian, living in Los Angeles, and married mother of three children by the name of Yitaish I am saying I had a gah-rrreat time watching Maxwell perform at his Grammy Museum charity concert at The Nokia Club in Los Angeles!

My beautiful oldest child, a recent graduate of USC, was not too thrilled having to babysit her youngest sister when finding out that “Mom” was off to see Maxwell, when of course she would have loved to attend herself (smile)! It was me time for “Mom”. This was my very first time seeing Maxwell and there is no need to say it, but it would be fun seeing him when he comes back in Spring! Keeping my fingers crossed. The night was magical. I had the pleasure of meeting the Grammy Museum ‘s executive director, who introduced Maxwell before the show, Robert “Bob” Santelli, outside by the parking lot.

I could not resist asking him, “What about a summer job at your museum?” and he responded, “Okay, come on by in about 6 months.” He was a personable and friendly man indeed. He also mentioned that the Maxwell concert was the very FIRST of its kind, ever, to be held for The Grammy Museum and that Maxwell was the one who approached them offering to do it. I found that very humbling of him. Currently wondering, How about offering to do concert in my backyard at my beautiful home, too, or a block party and we give the money to charity? What do you say, that would be different, ay Maxwell? Seriously, could you imagine?!

One stand out song of the night was Pretty Wings. Maxwell performed the song so wonderfully. Looking forward to Maxwell coming back to the area in Spring 2010. Definitely, want to thank Maxwell and his band members for doing the concert.

“The Grammy Museum Charity Concert” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences.”

Copyright Yitaish © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

Went to the concert
To see the “M”
VIP Passes
Yes, I hugged him

He has a slender build
And smelled so nice
As we release
I looked dead into his eyes

Some ladies dressed
In their Sunday’s best
Some ladies had an
Exposed chest

All the ladies
With manicured toes
Weaves, perms,
And cornrows

Tall, short,
And Ruby red lips
Into that seat
She got her hips

Lady with the hoop Earrings
Please sit down
Let me see the “M”
Turn round and round

Men with hats, ties,
And shirts
Some look as if they
Just got off work

It really doesn’t matter
How you come
We come to see The “M”
And have fun

Tenor Falsetto
Pierce the air
Mouth open wide
At him I glare

He asked me
How I liked the horns
Trumpet, sax, and
Trombone

A silver ring on his
Left ring finger
Then
A silver ring on his
Right ring finger

Max

Please stop playing
With my emotions

“Went to See the M” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Daughter of Eli © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

Help me to give myself the way that you’ve given you
Help me to be the helping hand that makes a dream come true…
“Help Somebody” – Maxwell

Pleasant sayings are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and a healing to the bones.
Solomon – Proverbs 16:24

As Apples of gold in silver carvings is a word spoken at the right time for it.
Solomon – Proverbs 25:11

No truer words to be spoken, especially for this situation…The following display of gratitude radiates from my Best Sistah girlfriend of 18 years, Ms. Kathy M. Green, who was unable to due any extensive typing herself, due to her disability. Even though dwelling in the midst of illness, Kat was determined to journey from her San Diego, California residence (with her niece, Tiffany) so that we could execute having her bask in Maxwell’s phenomenal musicianship, etc.., to be bestowed upon her at The Hollywood Bowl!

To the sweetest, most empathetic musicians ever to be assembled in one band, it is imperative to express an intense debt of Love and gratitude upon Derrick Hodge, Saunders Sermons, the very personable, Keyon Harrold (felt like we were sitting a good long while at a backyard BBQ with you, thanks for the CD’s and don’t be tryin’ to jack the Hachitachi 7000 camera! LOL); and The Hod, That Hod, The Hod David, for his loving, approaching greetings of attentiveness upon entering The Bowl before the show and then voluntarily giving up even more love after the show! YOU, “Sweeti Pie”, are in-DEED unbelievable! (cheese). Thank you! Thank you! Thank you from her (and us)!

And allow me to say, from me to you my dearest, Best, Bosom Buddy, ole Pal, ole Chum, Grandest Big Sis of mine, Kat… May our invisible umbilical cord that flows from each other’s beings, continue to afford us the opportunity to complete each other’s very thoughts and sentences, I pray, for many years to come! (smile) It was your amazing EXTREMELY SELF-LESS, humanitarian aura upon my life that incited me to place “The Industry” behind me once and for all and dedicate myself within a career of Educator and caregiver to Special Needs toddlers, full time; and oh, how enriched my life has been, metamorphosing into a “nurturing mother” figure to hundreds of viable, vital human beings over the years! BAM! I convict you of “Helping Somebody”; and I love you for this incredible saga that permeates my life! (sniff, sniff)

We have had many a fun and exciting “musical” adventure over the years we have been blessed to know each other! (grin) Through the good and bad, through good health and ill health, “come rain or come shine”…You are pertinent within the core of my very soul…
Thank you for partaking in REAL music with me at The Hollywood Bowl!

“You and me us never part, La-Ti-Dah-Dah..
Ain’t no ocean ain’t no sea, La-Ti-Dah-Dah..
Can keep my Sistah away from me…” (Celie & Nettie – The Color Purple)
P.S. (and we had no idea that one or the other would also be wearing Purple..ha)

Kimi, on behalf of Kathy- and to Kathy!
———————————————————————————

Here are some pictures:

The Performance Stage

The Packed Crowd

Myself, Hod & Kat

Kat, Tiffany (her niece) & Saunders

Kat, Keyon & Tiff

“A HOLLYWOOD ‘Cool’ BOWL of ‘Thank You’ Experience! (Help Somebody Edition)” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Kimi on behalf of Kathy © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

The crowd was pretty heavily populated with couples, a lot more men and of course the single ladies were in attendance. When I arrived Chrisette Michelle was finishing up her set with “Fragile”, her set must have been short because we did not arrive that late.

Next up, Common, who ROCKED the house with old school Hip-Hop finishing up with “Universal Mind Control”. Bilal was on stage with Common and accompanied him on some songs. Common performed a little pop and lock and did some break dancing. He kissed one of the ladies in the audience on the lips and took a sip of someone’s Margarita which I found funny. His DJ was off the hook! Loved Common’s freestyle about Dallas, too. The young lady sitting next to me, said she didn’t know much about Common but she was now a fan.

There was about a 40 minute intermission, while they broke down Common’s set and prepared for Maxwell. His performance began around 9:50 p.m. I had been worried about my seats which were on the floor to the right of the stage (my right, his left) but as fate would have it, the seats were about one row back from where the Y stage intersection. So, he was front and center and in my face ALL NIGHT LONG. Thank you, Jesus!

He wore a black suit, black shoes, a white shirt with black around the shoulders and a white tie. About 20 minutes into his performance, the jacket and tie were gone. But during one of his disappearances underneath the catwalk, he emerged with a black vest over his white shirt.

Max worked for his money last night, dancing, doing splits, working those hips and the catwalk. He did his version of the stage dive early in the program, running and gliding backwards into the catwalk, landing a about 12 feet away from me, on my side of the stage. Let the frenzy began! So close, yet so far!!

Of course, throughout the performance there was the usual banter about the women being so fine in Dallas, asking, “What is in the water?”, about him seeing a little of Dallas on his run that afternoon on Maple Ave. He must have stayed at the Crescent Hotel?

His set included “Loving You”, “Fistful of Tears”, “Sumthin, Sumthin”, a slower version of “Simply Beautiful” (yeah, slower than usual), “Fortunate”, “Playing Possum” (Hod and LaTina played guitar, Keyon Harrold on Trumpet), “This Women’s Work” which he free-styled into a political statement about the war in Iraq, Healthcare, the soldiers, and President Obama (loved it!). Oh, let us not forget “Til The Cops Come Knockin’”, my, oh my, oh my, Max worked it!! If anyone can remember more of his set list please post.

Of course, he ended with “Pretty Wings”, after he left the stage, the audience must have applauded, cheered and screamed for what must have been about six minutes before he took the stage again to perform his anthem “Ascension”, which started out in a capella then into the full version with singing, a pretty loooong version.

He was cheesing so hard during “Ascension,” the girl in front of me said, “Oh my God, that smile, he is soooo beautiful,” I patted her on the arm and said, “I understand, baby, I understand.” When he walked down the catwalk passed us she rubbed his leg, looked at me and said, “I had to.” At the end, he was having such a good time it was almost as if he did not want to leave. Honey, he didn’t check his watch once during the entire performance. Thanks, Max!

Finally, the band came out onto the catwalk, introduced themselves, Max introduced himself gave a little speech, said goodnight and that he loved us. I got a hand shake and a hand slap. Alas, no kiss. Still, it was an amazing performance and a wonderful night. I’m still feeling the buzz.

“An Amazing Concert Experience!” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright AllHeavens © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

I arrived early October 06, 2009, I wanted to see Chrisette Michele and I did. She was really good. Though, due to the sound system the only thing I could hear as a dominate was the music which I enjoyed but Chrisette’s singing I could not hear it that much. She did four or five songs, beginning with Epiphany, ending with Fragile. Common, was fantastic. He did his songs, accompanied by Bilal, on occasion. Loved the B-boy moves.

And then MAXWELL. I loved the opening Phoenix Rise, feels like something you wake up to. Okay, uh perhaps there was a bit of fog in my brain that last review? But “Loving You” (a remake) which immediately led into Al Green’s Simply Beautiful. But somehow I got that confused and thought it was a new song from an upcoming album. When I figured that out, I had a good laugh at myself. See what happens when you do not get any rest…Anyway. He performed this song quite nicely, all old soul like, dance moves and all.

I did not look to the screens as much but what I noticed (looking at the footage I captured), seeing Maxwell in black and white while in motion with his suit on, kind of reminded me of old black and white movies with Sidney Poiter and Harry Belafonte. Neat!

After he performed, Gravity Pushing to Pull, Help Somebody, and Fistful of Tears, my energy levels which had been up and down all day long, having been up since 5am with 2 hours of sleep prior and 2 ten minute naps, started to drop way down. Anyway. These 3 songs back to back were probably my favorite of the night. Gravity Pushing to Pull, the horns on this song where out of this world, superbly immaculate. He expressed the following, “…Katrina, Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, we need to show the world that we know they are hurting,” after his Help Somebody performance. In that moment, I thought, “Hey MAXWELL, what’s the plan and how can I help?” …still wondering too. The live music of Fistful of Tears was wonderful, love the bass.

From there he went on to perform, Cold, No One, Playing Possum, This Woman’s Work, and Stop the World. He asked the crowd to sing-a-long but uh, perhaps, not very many knew the song or maybe what he wanted us to do was misunderstood? Til the Cops Come Knockin, Pretty Wings and Ascension followed.

The ending was surprising! When everyone was saying where they were from. Previously, I had heard everyone introduce themselves, etc. But when Timbali added something extra, I was surprised into excitement! Mr. Tim “Timbali” Cornwell said he was born in Chester, SC. I believe he resides in Ohio now. But, I happen to know a few good people born and raised in the small town…my entire family. Isn’t that something? Cornwell, that last name does a ring familiar a bell. My mother used to be friends with a man who had the same last name but he passed away a few years ago. But I remember him. If I EVER get the chance to meet Mr. Tim “Timbali” Cornwell, I will definitely ask him if he was related to this man.

In conclusion, the night was amazing. I would love to see MAXWELL again, big arena, small arena whatever. He knows how to put on a show.

“The Show in Charlotte” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Greencaty/Chantay W. (LMN) © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

I was at Madison Square Garden concert last night and the show as well as all the artists were quite lovely. MAXWELL made me proud to be a supporter of his music, with this website (The Latest Maxwell News). Go Maxwell, Go!

The energy was insane, I would have expected nothing different given the location. I previously read all the comments, featured reviews and professional reviews from the 2 previous shows but I kind of skimmed them. Usually, by the time I see Maxwell in concert, I know what he is going to say before he says it, when its gonna happen and so on. Maybe he will throw in a line or two that he did not say at the previous shows. It has never bothered me to know beforehand what is going to happen because mostly, I enjoy reading everyone else’s experiences because no 2 people see 1 thing the same way. Anyway, oh my goodness!

We arrived towards the end of Chrisette Michele’s set, I believe she was performing her last song but I have no clue what it was. From what I heard, she sounded great. I did see Common. He was fantastic. He did a selection of his songs and paid homage to the hip-hop heavy hitters from coast to coast from years past. A highlight was hearing the music from Digable Planets’ – Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like That). He did not rap a verse but the music did play. I was ready for him to rap a verse because I have loved that song since I first heard it in 1993 (its the horns). Common’s entire set was wonderful and Bilal was there helping him out.

When MAXWELL came onto the stage with his band, I was trying to take in as much as I could from stage set up, screens (& graphics) and the people. Maxwell gave an alluring and gripping performance throughout the entire night, playing to his hometown. He performed old songs and new songs and new-new songs? He did “Loving You”. I have no clue if this is a new track off an upcoming album or an alternate version of Love You. But whatever it was &$^* (give me some more please…). If he was trying to sell the song, it would have been purchased before he and the band finished the final note.

A few highlights of Maxwell’s performance, of course the number one was seeing Maxwell. Second, I enjoyed that the band members were a part of the show. They moved around and got involved just as much as Maxwell did. Third, the lighting was outstanding. Maxwell bathed in purple mixed with a little red lighting…nice! Fourth, everyone played an instrument, except Maxwell (unless you count his voice), at one point in time, even Latina Webb. Lastly, even though I could go on and on, the crowd. Its great to see a crowd serve up the same type of energy as what is going on stage-wise.

On the technical side of things, I am going to be honest, there were some hits and a couple of misses. What I had a problem with, I view Maxwell as a full body performer (from the top of his head to the bottoms of his feet), but rarely did the screens show that. Some of the images were off. Like if you have a square and in the center of it is a circle, if you split it down the middle there would be equal parts on each side. But what I saw was more of the image on one side than the other. That could have been because of the way the screens were designed? What I loved about the screens was seeing Maxwell large and in charge, that cannot be beat! And also, getting an up close glimpse of the band members while they were performing. Kudos to the crew for all their hard work on the tour!!

MAXWELL’s theBLACKsummers’night tour is definitely one you do not want to miss. Wait, there was another…incident. I just don’t understand the appeal of getting on the stage while a show is happening. But again, some dude decided to place himself on stage while the band members were introducing themselves. He got onto the stage where the horn section (Kenneth Whalum III, Saunders Sermons, and Keyon Harrold) was and I don’t know what was being said but the body language from the guys was reading back the f*ck up and get off, random dude.

Its very dangerous getting up on the stage, you may be someone who simply wants to get up close to all the action but no one really knows that, who is to say that person isn’t up there to do harm? If you jump onto that stage and get hurt (badly) guess who is liable for that? Maxwell and everyone else involved in the production. Please, DO NOT JUMP (walk, maneuver or other) onto the stage. I do not know if these incidents will continue to happen but everyone needs to air on the side of caution.

In closing, the concert was out of this world!! I hope everyone who has the opportunity to go, gets the chance! MAXWELL’s voice is getting better too, just a little more healing though. While its healing, concert-goers will sing when needed! From what I saw of the entire performance, I definitely want some more, especially of Loving You. When can I add that to my personal collection of music? And next time I visit the city, hopefully I will be able to stay a little longer to meet up with everyone.

“I Want Some More!” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Greencaty/Chantay (LMN) © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

When my friend and I arrived at the Joe Louis Arena (September 26, 2009) in Detroit, MI, I was more than ready to see Maxwell and his incredible band do their thing. At first, I was a little worried about the seating but once I saw the Y formation and where I was and the opportunities my friend and I had to move around, my level of excitement increased tenfold and I mentally mapped out a spot for us once Maxwell graced us with his presence. Also, I got the chance to meet some wonderful people who I informed about The Latest Maxwell News and the owner (my friend).

I did not get to see Chrisette Michele’s performance but I did see Robin Thicke’s. Even though I am not much of a fan of his music, I must admit, his falsetto was awesome but his rhythm was slightly off. It was coming but it was stuck somewhere between almost there and there. Prior to him beginning, we were informed that his segment would be cut short so, he only got to perform 4 songs. At the end of his performance he did “A Milli” and it was amazing! Detroit could have literally carried him off the stage with good vibes. Yes, he was that good.

After that, we waited for awhile and then Max graced the stage. From the moment he stepped his foot out onto the Y, believe me, it was on and poppin’. His energy was non-stop as he performed song after song. Forgive me, I was entirely too caught up in Maxwell’s performance to remember song sequence. He was a bit hoarse but everything was still off the meters. I must mention the band was outstanding, hitting every note and Latina Webb looked and sounded gorgeous. Maxwell was in his element. He even laid down on the stage which I loved. Many lucky women got the chance to touch and rub him, grabbin’ hold to ankles, his arms, legs, etc. One of the people I met earlier, later told us he smelled like cinnamon. Oh, and he grabbed my hand too which was so totally cool.

Late in the show, 3 women somehow maneuvered themselves onto the stage but Max handled it like the true professional artist he is with a grace only he is capable of. Max let them have their moment before they were taken off the stage. He showcased his band at the end like he usually does.

The previous concert review from the reporter in Toronto had to be off! Even on his worst day, Max is still excellent. This was truly a show and I was highly entertained. Hands down, this was one of the best shows Maxwell has ever done. Everything was on point, from the video monitors, the stage, the performance. Absolutely awesome.

“One of the Best Shows Ever” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright T.H. © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

The following is a review from theBLACKsummersnight tour MAXWELL featuring Chrisette Michele and Common in Toronto, ON September 25, 2009. Showtime 7:30pm. Enjoy!

JOINED IN PROGRESS | We walked in while Chrisette Michele was on stage. My interest in seeing her was low, heard her album and it was not my thing, seems lately every woman has an edge to them these days, caught her last two songs. We got seated and comfortable, behind what “seemed to be a tame couple”.

After a short break, the seats filled up a little bit more, still very empty for Common. I love the work Common has done in the past, Like Water for Chocolate is still one of top 5 hip-hop albums. He put on a great show, his “Hip Hop Tribute” medley was insane. Everyone at the ACC was on it, serious old skool jams, he brought the BIZ!!!!!!. All in all, it was a great job by Common.

During another break, Mz. Freaky (part of the couple in front of us) goes for a beer. I was wondering to myself of the man she was with, “Really dude, you think she should be having a beer?” Anyway…The lights dim and on the PA you could hear: Drizzy (Drake) the song sounded like Lust For Life, I think, but a different version then the mixtape.

MAXWELL | The stage begins to come to life, the screens light up with some very nice graphics. The music, starts coming on and its PHOENIX RISE, sound was great, sounded great! It was a variation, and a great one!!! I found it more jazzy as opposed to the more house stylings of the album version. Time wise, about the same length, this led right into DANCEWITME which was funked up, which then led into GET TO KNOW YA, great instrumentation on that, right into LIFETIME, and then BAD HABITS (he removed the intro bit from 08).

They came out strong, and just played, really nice. Already the storyline started to play out. The BAND, is awesome, the musicianship and music were fantastic! All the alterations to the songs sounded phenomenal, it is not the album live, these songs take on their own life live. After Bad Habits things slowwwwwwwwwwed down. LOVING YOU/SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL was up next and sounded very funky very sexy, again the musicians were amazing. You know truly, I would go to see them w/o Maxwell. This led into FORTUNATE, nice! So, for 30 minutes there was music and then finally a 15 second break. At this point, I’m thinking-cool stage, nice screens, and nice imagery. Band is doing great, music is great, this is a Maxwell show, my 5th, yeah it’s alright!

The Hornsmen are up on one side of the stage, aerial view of an absolutely immaculate African landscape, piano, symphony, ok, trumpeter starts, and then, F%&# Me!! Oh my gawd, that beat! THAT BEAT!!!!! THIS WAS THE SH*T! GRAVITY: PUSHING TO PULL THE STAGE!!! DAMN THAT STAGE!!!!! BEZERK THE ACC WENT NUTS!!!

I dunno what to say my GOD, MAXWELL, you are a blessed man to come up with this, oh gravity is phenomenal, but this instrumentation blew it out of the water and then “Pop up Maxwell” was insane, this led right into HELP SOMEBODY, this song he has changed it up since ’08, and now (the reception was quite different than last year). Oh no, is was kicking, this was perfection! During Help Somebody, I think INSPI(RED), everybody there, even me personally, had tears during this combo, oh man, it has to be seen live!!! BUY YOUR TICKETS JUST FOR THESE TWO SONGS, absolutely worth the ticket price!!! Ok, everyone including M, I think needed to recompose themselves.

FISTFUL OF TEARS was up next and sounded great! The digital images on the screens reminded me of the Luxury: The Syndrome pics of him in the rain, to me it sounded a little “poppier”, might have been the piano though”, COLD was up next the bass, oh love this live, funky!! Again, benefits of hoarsewell? The band IMHO, shined. This led into NOONE, here the music almost drowned him out, kinda gave it a nice feel in a way, band kicked butt on this, aggressive and very strong. PLAYING POSSOM, Maxwell and the guitarist. The catwalk is the shape of a Y, with the stage, it looks sort of like this…Y the guitarist is at one tip of the Y and Maxwell is at the tip of the side closest to us, NICE!

Glad to see lots of folks knew this one! That solo I love it, man I love brass, I think that’s one thing I really enjoyed at the show, gorgeous!! Yeah, crowd went nuts, you guessed it THIS WOMAN’S WORK was next, loved the imagery, beautiful heart!!! Beautiful voice, his voice did well on this, I think hoarsewell added to this, someone ran the stage, she was crazy! Kinda funny.

Vocal exercises in between hear, people joined in. STOP THE WORLD, nice add-ons/improve lyrics. TIL THE COPS COME KNOCKIN’ EXTENDED version with PARADISO/OPUS JAZZED UP ADDED ON. Totally steaming. “When I get you home/I’m not gonna let you even take Your Bag off/I know you got your hair prettied baby, but when I’m done with you baby, I’m, gonna spread it all out, I’m gonna mess your hair up, I’m gonna make your lipstick go all over, all over, all over. I’m gonna carry you to back to my building, I’m gonna take you to the kitchen, I’m gonna chop you up…” and that’s all I heard cause the ladies went nuts all around me and all the boys were just staring at each other thinking the same thing bout later on that night, thank you Maxwell! LOL

PRETTY WINGS was next, feathers from the roof, at one point it looked like they were following M, which looked really cool.

ENDING | I do not get what is with people and encores? Everyone started to leave, like leave, I think word got backstage and M came running out. ASCENSION (a capella) started, band kicked in after the first chorus, and the show ended with the Band Introductions. It was a great show. I didn’t feel that too far away (which was a perk), great seats, great band.

ON A SIDE NOTE: We did however not enjoy Mz Freak Nasty, she was drunk, and was dancing quite sleazy, at one point her “man” was pretty much in her pants, she got 4 warnings and laughed at and mocked, but sadly she was too drunk to realize what she was doing. And dude, “if you read this really man, control your ish, that was not cool and sadly you really were looking for one thing from her and didn’t give a damn about her, so the least you could’ve done was not let her buy more booze and make a complete ass of herself, and trust me, you didn’t come off looking too good either.” But I digress.

Aside from that, the crowd was wonderful and the guy behind me was hilarious.

“It Was a Great Show” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Sanjay © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

Did I go?….. Hell Yeah! First let me start off by saying “Thank You Chantay.” I stumbled onto your site, (LMN) earlier this spring and have truly enjoyed everything about it. God Bless you for your dedication and for keeping us DIE HARD MAX FANS ” in the know”.

Back to the SHOW! Upon arriving at the House of Blues I was a bit taken aback at the line that was stretched down and around the corner…. in both directions possibly 3-4 blocks. In the beginning there was some aggravation due to the Extremely long wait (about 3 hours) Then around 10:30 or so, the BAND appeared and started Playing “Phoenix Rise”, the crowd went off! Soon after Mr. Maxwell himself arose from the middle and the SMILE that was on my face would have put Chester Cheetah to shame! I could no longer feel my toes for they had long ago gone numb, but that didn’t stop me from JAMMIN’ to the opening song “Ascension.”

Yes, Max sang “Ascension, Sumthin’ Sumthin’, and This Woman’s Work. However, I was truly happy that this concert focused on the “BLACK” album. The ever so sinful “Bad Habits” was the third song and I enjoyed every minute of it. One slight blemish was when he performed the song “Help Somebody.” He started off by telling us that the song has been added to the Red campaign to fight AIDS in Africa, (Yesss, I luv that) “So, go along even if you’re not feeling it.” Well, even though the song is not a favorite, I do like it and tried my best to give it my all. Nonetheless, I guess Max wasn’t pleased with the reception he was getting and cut the song short and somewhat abruptly!

The “highlight” of the night for me was when Max so gently hit that first line “Someone Stop The World Yeah” I anticipated whether or not he would be able to hit THAT note “so perfectly DeeSIGNED” and oh my, did he ever!!!! (I’m still shaking). At that defining moment everything was all worth it….the call-out from work, the flight from D.C, the 3 hour wait in line. ALL worth it. Maxwell swayed, gyrated, did a split, rolled on the floor and some mo! The BAND is “Simply Beautiful” very talented and mostly young. Hod David, Kenneth Whalum, LaTina Webb, the bass player and the Organ player (sorry I forgot some names) all did a solo.

To Boot, Maxwell is such a humble and thoughtful person. He thanked us for coming and jokingly stated that the last last time he was in Boston there were 10 people in the audience. At one point, he stopped speaking shook his head & covered his face as if he couldn’t believe that yet again, folks came out to hear his music. He also apologized for the long wait we endured saying it was out of his hands. In other words, Blame Jimmy Kimmel.

Lastly, I have attended every Maxwell concert since 1996-97. Each and every time it is a treat. Although most of the songs I have heard him perform several times he manages to “throw a wrinkle in it” to make it different and fresh. Like when he sang “Fortunate” the variation made me love the song all over again. Like a Fine Wine, it gets better with time!!!! Man or Woman, if you are Human and LOVE GREAT MUSIC, it is a must that you go see this Man and his Band put on a show! Even if you have to sit on the roof, you will not be disappointed.

The only disappointment, though, after watching this Wonderful Man intoxicate me with his captivating voice and putting me in Fantasy land with his arousing stage interpretation….. I had to go back to the Hotel with with my Aunt & two Girlfriends. DAMN!

Set List:

Phoenix Rise, Ascension, Bad Habits, Pretty Wings, Woman’s Work, Help Somebody, Sumthin’ Sumthin’, Cold, Fortunate, Stop The World and Til the Cops Come Knockin’ (not necessarily in that order).

“It Was All Worth It! (Boston)” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Demetria Spratley © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.

For a minute, I had to question myself whether the Red Sox were playing. There were multitudes of people on the street, long lines from Ipswich Street through Lansdowne Street but no Red Sox gear. Were they all here for Maxwell? As I pulled into Lansdowne, it became apparent that this was all about him.

Maxwell, don’t ever wonder – you have fans in Beantown. Thanks to my friends LMN & 2Serenity, I registered early and got my priority access ticket. I had been in line for an hour when I received a Maxwell tweet “…BOSTON thank you in advance for the ridiculous line you all done started around the block at the House of Blues…” It was not in vain, he was here and damn, he was worth the wait.

“Ascension” was the opening song of the night. Ladies were screaming, guys cheering on and he took us all, with his sexy familiar smile, his music that never grows old and his phenomenal band. He stirred up the crowd.

He mentioned an interesting fact the he resided in Boston for a short while when he was younger but the building they lived in burnt down. I couldn’t help but fantasize what it would have been like to have such a sexy neighbor. Would he think I’m pretty and want to do a little “Sumthin’ Sumthin’”? Would we be jonesin at six on Thursday night “Til the cops came knocking?” I am sure I was not the only one going there.

He let the guys know he was helping them to “get lucky” and called out for the single ladies (if only I could reach him from the second floor balcony) asking “Where were you? We were in Boston since yesterday.”

By the time he joined Latina Webb in singing, “If it’s alright with you…” the castle I had built in the air was grand and mighty. The pain on the soles of my feet was gone at the thought of getting home and having this adorable man smiling at me as he rubs my feet and… (Sorry guys, I can’t let you into my castle)

It was a great performance and I can’t wait to see him again and again and again. If you never had a chance to see him in concert, get your tickets now. His band is amazing, talented and refreshing. From his new album, he sang “Bad Habits”, “Help Somebody”, “Pretty Wings”, “Stop the World”, and “Cold”; from the older albums, “This Woman’s Work”, “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” and “Fortunate” among others.

Thanks LMN for always keeping us informed. Maxwell should know you hold his banner and carry his torch always…

To Maxwell – my pumps are on and it’s very alright with me; don’t hold back.

“Were They All Here for MAXWELL” feature concert review for The Latest Maxwell News presents “Fan Concert Experiences“.

Copyright Susan Mutharia © 2009. All words were used with permission of the owner. Special thanks to the owner for allowing The Latest Maxwell News to feature the concert review.