The show was ours! I know this is Partyline, but I was praying from the moment that “The Boy Is Mine Tour” was announced that it would make it to the STL. What? If I can’t be honest with y’all, then what’s the point? Anyway, I couldn’t have been the only nervous wreck contemplating hitting up a nearby tour stop just in case. There was no need. Y’all already know I have a praise report! Not only did they show up, but they showed out – and represented for the aunties at the same doggone time. That’s right, “The Boy Is Mine” was all about the for the aunties (…and the guncles. Where is the lie?). Let’s be clear: if you came in with a 40-inch bust down, Sunday night wasn’t for you. This was for the pixie-cut Pams, the sista curls Sheryls and the roller-set Rochelles. In case that wasn’t clear enough, I’m talking about the suede-boot-wearing, French-hat-tilted aunties (aka Mary J. Blige Jrs) who came to hear the girls sing the stage down. In other words, I was all up in my element!
If you told Siri, “Play me some powerhouse performers,” she would’ve queued up exactly who hit that stage at Enterprise Center—Muni Long, Kelly Rowland, Brandy, and Monica. Vocals were “vocal-ing” and the nostalgia was heavy!
And let me give props to whatever Tae-Bo, Shaun T. or Peloton workouts that Kelly has been up to. Kelendria Trene Rowland, every Tyrone and DeMarcus is going to be erroneously expecting our bodies to be snatched for the rest of our lives thanks to you! And then she had the nerve to threaten to find her baby daddy in St. Louis. Was I the only one like, “Wayment (yes, wayment), is she quietly giving up some tea?” What? Y’all know I’m messy for a living! Let me get back to the show before Kelly sends one of those soldiers her and Beyoncé ‘nem sing about to get me for being in her business! She sounded as good as she looked – Brandy, Monica and Muni did too! And we got a tasty treat when 2025 “American Idol” winner Jamal Roberts gave us a sample of his crazy vocal skills. He had the nerve to sing “Untitled (How Does It Feel)” and kill it! Now I did take issue with him having all those roses and not handing them out. Everyone knows that intense eye contact and a tenderly delivered rose during a concert is iconic auntie-bait behavior. How are you gonna half step, sir?
Getting lifted with John, Josh and Becky. You know us aunties can’t do that back-to-back concerting on a work night, so I was expecting to representing by myself for my boo John Legend’s “Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour” Monday night at The Factory. The gag was that we couldn’t have packed the show out if we wanted to, because the soccer moms and middle management dads had already bought up all the tickets! For real, if they hadn’t had hip hop playing in the background before the show, I would have thought I had accidently showed up for the Yacht Rock Revue. I was like, “Oh wait, this is the ‘All of Me’ audience.” But when he hit the stage, it was clear that they might have found him through “All of Me” but they did their research. They knew all the words as well as us day ones. I had a cute time revisiting the days when I was convinced that he wanted to shoot his shot when he popped up in the late great Loft before he played that show at The Arch. He didn’t even know I was there, but I had decided otherwise. But enough about my throwback delusions, let’s talk about how he took us back to the early 2000s with his music, and I got my whole entire life. He performed the whole album, y’all. I’ve been going to John Legend shows for twenty years and Monday night was the first time I heard “Live It Up” and “It Don’t Have to Change” live. He did a few of his favorites from some of his other albums, like “Green Light” and “Heaven Only Knows.” And he did “All of Me” too. He knew that the audience might have staged a mutiny if he hadn’t.
Pleased by the Shuffle. Even though my day was already jam packed, it wouldn’t have set right with my soul if I hadn’t made my way to Kirkwood Saturday afternoon to see Robert Townsend after he blessed me with “The Five Heartbeats,” “Holiday Heart” and the iconic “Hollywood Shuffle!” I didn’t know what to expect from him in a one-man show, but it was really good. As he took us through his life, he also took us through all of the emotions with the ups and downs. I laughed. I wanted to cry – but I didn’t, because y’all know good and well that I don’t do raw emotion like that – and I was inspired.
Reuniting with Café Soul. They’re back! And I’m not using my Carol Anne from “Poltergeist” voice, either. I mean this in the best way humanly possible! One of my favorite nightlife experiences of all time will be back at the House of Soul (1204 Washington Blvd) on Saturday, November 29 for a Café Soul Reunion. I don’t know who will be featured as far as the saingers (yes, saingers), because it is an open mic after all. Those of us who have been fans of the Café Soul experience since the Lucas School House days already know that a time will be had. I’m sitting here thinking about all of the greatness – local and national – who have graced the Café Soul stage through the open mic and their concert series. Big things have happened for the old faithfuls. Wil Robinson is in After 7. Mark Harris II is with Najee. Tish Period was just on “The Tamron Hall Show.” I could go on and on, but I don’t have any more space left. Be sure to stop through. Doors open at 8 p.m. You won’t be disappointed.