VANCOUVER
-- A room full of lovers greeted John Legend Sunday night at the Orpheum Sunday
night.
Much has
been made of Legend's ability to inspire romance. After all, this is the R
& B singer that wrote the line, "I don't want to brag, but I'll be the
best you've ever had."
But as
anyone in a long-term relationship can tell you, date night romance can bring a
lot of pressure. Would Legend's smooth moves live up to expectations?.
The
evening began with Tamar Braxton — youngest sister of Toni — who ran a mini
relationship counselling session between bouts of vocal acrobatics that showed
off her impressive range.
A
consummate entertainer, Braxton charmed the initially reticent audience with
tales from her life with husband, record exec Vincent Herbert. Her frank
manner, punctuated by the occasional saucy flip of golden curls, had the
audience in stitches.
Legend
was a little less on the nose, preferring to let his songs do the work. Backed
by the steamy video projected on what looked, appropriately, like a loosely
hung bed sheet, he opened with We Were Made for Love from his fourth solo album
Love in the Future.
Clad
impeccably, as always, in a leather jacket and slim black jeans, Legend slid
smoothly from song to song.
Legend's
choral roots were on full display when he took to the piano for songs like
Let's Get Lifted from his 2008 debut.
Where
Braxton's voice was layered under guitar and effects, Legend's stripped-down
arrangements let his voice fill the room.
He let
the band go entirely mid-set for some time along with the audience. Taking
fantastic advantage of the old theatre spectacular acoustics, he pulled out
Bruce Springsteen's Dancing in the Dark which he first performed on Jimmy
Fallon with the Roots.
With the
exception of the piano interlude, the songs in the first half of the set felt
sped up, with almost no transition in between.
But the
room happily forgave him when he walked out onto the floor for the final chorus
of Ordinary People, finishing up with a gorgeous a cappella flourish the flew
into the rafters.
If that
doesn't justify all that talk of romance, I'm not sure what would.
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