It was after midnight last night as the most dedicated of St. Louis El DeBarge fans waited patiently at the Ambassador only to be met on stage by his baby Brother Chico.
“Y’all say a prayer – and let’s give a moment of silence – for my brother,” Chico told the audience as they groaned and headed for the door. “He’s going through some things and I took a red eye flight just so I could be here on his behalf.”
To say that they were less than understanding would be an understatement.
Midway through his heartfelt explanation what was left of the already sparse crowd headed for the exit and the box office – where the shades were drawn.
In all fairness to them, some had been waiting for more than five hours and sat through three opening acts –and had no clue that anyone other than El DeBarge would be closing the show.
“They knew when we walked in here that El wasn’t coming,” one woman said as she sat shaking her head. “I don’t understand why they thought they could do us like this.”
One can only assume he was referring to his older brother’s constant and public battle with substance abuse.
But some guests paid as much as $30 for what was billed as a live taping for a documentary about the El’s life and career – and were rightfully none too pleased when he didn’t show up.
Nikko Smith and The Dirty Muggs were impressive in their opening sets – that were more like full-fledged concerts as organizers obviously scrambled to bide time.
Two songs into Chico’s set a small group of disgruntled patrons stood blocking the view of him on stage and demanding their money back.
Security forced them to disband.
Chico promised to pay tribute to his brother El and the DeBarge musical legacy by giving a snippet of some DeBarge and Switch classics before he started the show, but most of the audience had cleared out while he was still singing his original music.
“I paid for El, and that’s who I want to see,” one woman shouted as she asked security to point her to the organizers so she could demand her money back. “If I wanted to see Chico, I never would have spent my money to see El. That’s like apples and oranges.”
An e-mail was sent to one of the event’s promoters requesting more information regarding last night’s show – including the details on how the replacement happened, why ticketholders weren’t given any advanced notice and whether refunds will be given. That information will be shared when it becomes available.
