It had been happening for more than a decade, but I probably never would have known about the annual An Under Cover Weekend (AUCW) had it not been for social media and local singer Theresa Payne. She used her Facebook account to share the process of preparing to represent the one and only Whitney Houston for her set during the concert series that took place this past weekend at Delmar Hall.
Each night, five local bands (not cover bands) are enlisted to pay tribute to a popular artist or band from the 80s, 90s and 2000s. Payne was charged with taking on the most iconic of all the acts – and on the opening evening of the weekend run of AUCW. As confident as I was in her as a singer and an artist, I was a nervous wreck for her. Whitney Houston passed away six years ago, and there is yet to be a truly fitting tribute. Along with Prince, Michael Jackson and just recently her godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston ranks among those late artists who are as impossible to cover as they are irreplaceable.
But as Payne and her accompanist Lordell Rush would regularly pop up on my timeline to give a taste of what she was cooking up, I became intrigued.  I was still afraid for her – but intrigued nonetheless.
Thursday night I was on the fence about stopping through. But after encouragement from St. Louis Post-Dispatch pop music critic Kevin C. Johnson, I decided to come through. He told me to be sure to come in time to catch Lyrique as Bobby Brown, too.
I had no idea there would be two black artists given space to perform. For me, that was worth it. In hindsight, I wish Lyrique and Payne would have performed a rendition of the Brown/Houston duet “Something In Common.” Okay, maybe not.
I got there just as Lyrique is getting started. There were some rough patches, but he had the essence of Bobby Brown – and a stage presence worthy of him honing his craft. With proper voice training, he could really be one of the ones to watch on the local music scene.
“Are you coming Saturday to see me do Usher?” singer TreG asked just as Lyrique had wrapped up “Every Little Step I Take.”
I also learned that Friday night singer Tiffany Elle would be paying tribute to Brandy for the 90s portion of AUCW – which I would regretfully miss because it conflicted with Earth, Wind and Fire.
Then the moment I had been waiting for arrived.
“Up next is Theresa Payne as Whitney Houston,” announcer and AUCW organizer Michael Tomko said with enough enthusiasm to make me nervous for Theresa.
Her background singers came out before she did, wearing t-shirts with Houston’s face on them. Payne sang her way on stage to “The Greatest Love of All,” with a shirt that matched her background singers along with totally 80s satin red gloves and a big curly wig that seemed inspired by the one Houston wore on her “Whitney” album cover.
Between the musicianship of the band – that included a full horn section – and the harmonies of the background singers that perfectly complimented Payne, I thought, “Oh, this is gonna be good.”
I was right.
Except for the opening number and Houston’s debut hit “You Give Good Love,” Payne kept it upbeat. For “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Payne invited her 8-year-old daughter Nina Rose to perform.
With each selection, the crowd was more impressed. She had the nerve to nail the breathing, chord progression and octave change in the final line of “I’m Your Baby Tonight.”
“Holy [expletive],” Tomko said as he prepared to bid the crowd good night. “Theresa Payne everybody.”
Overall, impressed with what seemed to be an intentional effort of diversity from the organizers of AUCW. In addition to Brandy, Legend, Brown, Houston and Usher, the weekend also included homages to Sade and Missy Elliott.
Saturday night was TreG’s turn to wow the crowd – and he delivered. But before that, Josh Stanton took on John Legend. Stanton’s range and tone were perfect to tackle Legend’s unique tenor voice, but Stanton was a bit too ambitious, and some of the vocal risks didn’t pay off. It would be great to see him revisit a John Legend tribute with more rehearsal – especially his take on the underrated ballad “Stay With You” from Legend’s “Get Lifted” debut. Â
Okay, now back to TreG. He has the confidence of a multi-platinum music star, which is a prerequisite to take on the double threat as a singer/dancer. With the support of four background dancers, three background singers and a full band, TreG had the crowd on its feet for his entire performance. He hyped it up with extended excerpts of several of Usher’s dance classics, including “Yeah,” “Caught Up” and “You Don’t Have To Call.” He slowed it down with “There Goes My Baby” and “Climax.” There was also a midtempo vibe, thanks to “Bad Girls” and “Good Kisser.”
Seeing the stellar performances of Payne and TreG – and the potential in Stanton and Lyrique as they seasoned familiar artists from mainstream music with St. Louis flavor showcased the impressive talent pool we have in the city. It’s why AUCW seems to work so well – and it’s why I’ll be back.
