I was sad that Mint Condition front man Stokley Williams didn’t have the sold-out show he deserved when he played St. Louis at the Touhill on Father’s Day. It happens I suppose. It didn’t matter, because those of us who stopped through had the time of our lives, do you hear me. I was so glad Ben Broadnax told the folks in the balcony they could come down to the floor to enjoy up close and personal.
Stephanie “Songbird” Ivy did a solid job as an opening act. I like how you turned that Ed Sheeran hit into a straight up soul medley. And anybody that works Milira’s “Go Outside In The Rain” into their set list – and can actually pull off the performance – is alright with me. Because I was leaving from TLT’s #BlackBoyJoy (which I’ll get to in a minute) I missed the comedian, but I heard good things about her from everybody else. And you know there is no lying in STL folks when it comes to reading a tattered comedy set for dear life. But the general consensus was she did her thing. I already knew there would be no games played by Stokley, but I had no idea. He did it all. He hit on Mint Condition, his solo stuff and even paid tribute to the Minnesota sound with nods to Prince and Morris Day and The Time. Life more abundantly! Okay, so you already know he does the most with Mint Condition behind him. Imagine that times ten, because he doesn’t have to worry about getting drove (yes, I said drove) with accusations that he’s hamming it up and stealing the spotlight. No shade to DC3, but it reminded me of what happened when Beyonce first came out all extra and “Crazy In Love.” Yes, it was like that. Stokley had a whole routine that included lyrical/contemporary/modern and even a bit of praise dancing. And I have never seen two background dancers work as hard as those young ladies did keeping up with Stokely. I really wish there was a live stream of the show, so I could show y’all what you missed. A major shout out to AJ Mack Entertainment and VBBM Entertainment, I hope y’all can recoup the loss that came with the light crowd. Before y’all jump down my throat, Ben said that they took an “L” because the crowd was light, not me.
