“R&B is not dead,” singer Maxwell said blissfully as he was closing out the King and Queen of Hearts Tour with Mary J. Blige Saturday at Scottrade Center. “It’s alive and well right here tonight.”
He had every reason to be thrilled as a nearly sold-out crowd grooved with him, Blige and newcomer Ro James for the better part of four hours and proved their devotion to the genre and its artists.
Newcomer Ro James started the evening off with a trio of selections from his debut album “El Dorado” in front of a set that included a model of the Cadillac grill for which his album is named.
Although brief, his portion of the show fared well for an audience that was mostly getting situated and searching for their seats.
He closed out with his breakthrough single “Permission.” The crowd connected with summer R&B hit from its instantly identifiable intro, and had just completely warmed up to him as he was winding down. Had James been given another five minutes, he might have been able to grow his fan base.
Mary J. Blige stood before the crowd as a few of the more tumultuous selections from her musical catalog was imitating her life – almost prophetically so.
She came on stage after a series of tabloid headlines breaking the news of her impending divorce from Kendu Isaacs, who was also her manager. The divorce is already primed to be a messy one, and Blige used her current emotional turmoil to fuel her show.
Blige admitted that she never expected to be in the situation of watching the painful end of her marriage play out or the world to see, but her intention on the King and Queen of Hearts Tour is clearly to turn her experience into a teachable moment for her legion of devoted fans.
She started out upbeat, opening the show with her dance hit “Fine” and continuing with “You Bring Me Joy,” “Love is All We Need,” and a rendition of “Real Love” that turned into a sing along.
Later she revealed to be anything but fine – and the audience showed their overwhelming support as her music expressed the emotional rollercoaster she’s experienced in recent months.
She segued into addressing the divorce with “Enough Cryin’,” “Not Gon Cry” and “My Life,” before getting to her newest single “Thick of It,” which speaks to her current situation.
Fans had her back as she fought back tears during moments that hit so close to her current situation she admitted she might not make it through the songs.
Those emotions impeded her vocal ability from time to time over the course of the show, but the riveting experience of watching her lean into her feelings made the show compelling enough to forgive any missed notes.
She expressed hope of the light at the end of the tunnel as she jumped into “No More Drama” and took gave the fans a stroll down Mary J. Blige memory lane with a video medley from her 25 years in the music industry before closing the show with her mega hits “Sweet Thing” and “Family Affair.”
Maxwell ambitiously kicked off his portion the show off with a medley of b side records, opting for personal favorites that gave the band an opportunity to shine as opposed to his more familiar – and commercially successful – selections. The risk didn’t pay off. He almost lost the audience’s attention after the band proceeded to overpower his crooning – particularly his silky falsetto.
But he quickly regrouped with the mid-tempo favorite “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” and kept the audience locked in from then until the finale with rearrangements to his hits that gave St. Louis natives Keyon Harrold and Shedrick Mitchell the opportunity to flex their impeccable musicianship chops as a part of the accompaniment ensemble.
Maxwell’s 90 minute set ran the gamut with respect to black music – from funk, soul, neosoul to gospel in addition to R&B thanks to the signature sound that comes thanks to the care and precision that goes into creating his own music, and reimagining songs to the point where they become his own.
“Bad Habits,” “Fistful of Tears,” “Till The Cops Come Knockin’,” “Lifetime,” “Lake by the Ocean,” Al Green’s “Simply Beautiful” and Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” were among them.”
He wove in a tribute to Prince when his quiet storm classic “Fortunate” transitioned into “Adore.” Before “Fortunate” was finished, Maxwell paid homage to Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the Sky” and Andrae Crouch’s “Let The Church Say Amen.”
His vocals weren’t in top form, but his versatility as a singer coupled with the energy of his stage showmanship compensated for being just outside of his usually pristine first tenor range and his pristine falsetto secret weapon.
