“If you’ve been rocking with New Edition for the last 40 years, put a fist in the air right now,” said Ronnie Devoe. “I know we got some New Edition 4lifers in this place tonight. We got all six on stage tonight including Mr. Ralph Tresvant. Let’s keep it going for Mr. Ricky Bell, and it don’t stop; Mr. Johnny Gill is in the building tonight; my partner in crime, my partner in rhyme, put ya hands together for Michael Lamont Bivins; put your hands together for Bobby Brown.” “St. Louis, let’s keep that energy going for our big homie Mr. Ronald Boyd Devoe Jr.,” Tresvant said.
The legendary group returned to the Enterprise Center Saturday as part of their Legacy Tour featuring special guests, Guy, Keith Sweat, and Tank. The six man band weathered the storm as “Can You Stand The Rain” suggests. While the city was under a tornado warning and had inclement weather like New Edition’s visit to St. Louis for last year’s Culture Tour with Jodeci and Charlie Wilson, that didn’t stop longtime fans from filling the arena. Both tours were organized by Black Promoters Collective, “a coalition of the top African-American independent concert promotion and production companies in North America.”
“Few recording artists can attest to a superior 40-year career that stands the test of time, but New Edition can,” Gary Guidry, BPC CEO said in a statement. “When we partnered with NE for “The Culture Tour,” although I knew it would be stellar, their show exceeded my expectations. The guys were nothing short of miraculous. We are excited about partnering with New Edition to further the legacy of the foundation they have already laid,” states BPC CEO Gary Guidry.
New Edition’s showmanship was just as great if not better than their last tour. The group opened the show with “Crucial,” and performed a number of their timeless hits including: “Mr. Telephone Man,” “If It Isn’t Love,” “Can You Stand The Rain,” “Candy Girl,” and more.
The collective standout stars, some with solo hits and others with subgroups outside of New Edition, also blessed us with their bangers from Tresvant’s “Sensitivity” to Johnny Gill’s “My My My,” “Rub You The Right Way,” and “There U Go,” to Brown’s “Every Little Step,” “My Prerogative,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” and “Roni,” to Bell Biv Devoe’s “When Will I See You Smile Again?” and “Poison.”
All six original members closed their headlining production with “N.E. Heartbreak.”
Keith Sweat still has it going on. The 61-year-old Godfather of R&B had all the ladies swooning over his silky waves and smooth crooning over what he calls “begging music.”
“Fellas if you in a relationship you’ve been doing [expletive] [expletive] for the last couple of weeks you brought your woman here to see my begging [expletive], imma help you fix that [expletive] tonight,” Sweat joked.
His catalog of grown & sexy hits thrilled the crowd from start to finish. He began the set with “Don’t Stop Your Love,” then transitioned to “I Want Her,” and “Twisted.”
He paid tribute to his late friend and former bandmate of Levert, Sweat and Gill, Gerald Levert with “Round and Round,” “Door #1,” and “My Body.”
Sweat, whose written hits for several artists also included some of those songs in his performance like Silk’s “Lose Control,” and “Freak Me.” Teddy Riley joined on the keys and talkbox for Johnny Kemp’s “Just Got Paid,” and Hi-Five’s “I Like The Way (Kissing Game).”
He also honored Riley, his longtime friend and the originator of the New Jack Swing movement in a shoutout.
“We knew each other before we had a hit record,” Sweat said. “Shooting dice in the projects together taking all his money. He was a young genius back in the day. Everybody knew Teddy, he was a genius at 15 years old.”
Sweat hilariously shut down the claims people have often said over the years about him getting drunk on stage.
“Rumor has it that I like to get drunk on stage and [expletive] that’s some [expletive],” he said. “For all those people who feel like they won’t mess with me 25 years later, leave me the hell alone [expletive]. I got mine, go get yours.”
He paid homage to the all white ensembles he wore in videos and topped off his clean ensemble with a fedora during his closing number, “Nobody.”
The comeback reunion of Guy, composed of biological brothers, Aaron and Damion Hall, and Riley was exciting and seemed nostalgic for them as well as the audience.
The trio had the arena partying as if we traveled back in a time machine to the ‘80s and the ‘90s with their stacked roster of megahits including “Groove Me,” “I Like,” and “Piece of Love.” on walked through the crowd shirtless singing “Let’s Chill,” while Riley and Damion held it down on stage.
Outside of holding the keys and his signature talkbox down, Riley also busted a move and performed solo for “Teddy’s Jam,” and “Wreckx-n-Effect’s “Rump Shaker.”
“I wanna give thanks to all of you because if it wasn’t for you there would be no us on this stage,” Riley said. “You all have been receiving our music since 1986. This is history for us on this stage with our brothers New Edition, Keith Sweat, and Tank. This is the celebration of New Edition’s 40th Anniversary. We’re thankful for them giving us this opportunity to be on stage again years later.”
R&B’s General and also the youngest on the lineup in his 40s [while the other gentlemen are in their 50s], Tank held it down with his grown and sexy performance.
Despite his recent partial hearing loss, he blazed the stage and made the situation unrecognizable. He opened to the up tempo party record, “You’re My Star.” His best friend, business partner, and fellow co-host of R&B Money Podcast, J. Valentine joined him in a duet of their sultry ballad “Slow,” from Tank’s most recent project, “R&B Money.” Valentine also performed his Bay Area anthem “Up.”The General also performed “Sex Music,” and “#BDAY.”
There was a big reaction and praise for his baby making records “[Expletive] Wit Me,” and “When We.” He took it back to the beginning of his career with the song that shot him into stardom, “Maybe I Deserve,” and also performed “Please Don’t Go,” “Can’t Let It Show,” which samples Maxwell’s “This Woman’s Work,” and closed with his version of Bonnie Rait’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” “My name is Tank, I’m a Capricorn, and this has been my time on the Legacy Tour, thank you,” Tank said while closing out his performance. “I Love You! I Love You! I Love You!”
