i would die 4 u (2 actually play ur own songs)

By: B -- 2/27/06

I saw a high-energy R&B concert Saturday night featuring one of my all-time favorite artists, at a sweet venue with top-notch seats amongst close friends. An enjoyable show by any standard, yet I left feeling utterly disappointed. Duped. Suckered. Hoodwinked and bamboozled.

I’ll explain.

The show was billed as a “Tamar featuring Prince” concert at The Orpheum, an under-the-radar affair that evidently sold out in a matter of minutes. Being that it was the first show on this mini-tour, no one really knew what to expect.

Over pre-show drinks, my concertmates and I predicted that Tamar would begin the show as the headliner, but at some point Prince and his high-wattage persona would command the spotlight. It just made sense. If Prince wasn’t planning on performing, he'd likely leave his name off the bill. So we thought.

We agreed that we would only need to hear a few of his classics to be satisfied. We weren’t asking for much, but when Prince’s name is on the marquee, one can expect him to deliver at least a few of his hits, right?

Apparently not. Prince didn’t rock even one of his old songs, instead sticking to guitar and backup vocals while Tamar controlled the limelight. Result: the show was a tightly-choreographed funk fiesta, with energetic dancing, cover songs, vivid lighting, crowd interaction and a general theatrical campiness usually found on the Vegas strip.

Prince emerged on stage first, setting up shop on stage right wearing a black bell-bottomed suit with subtle white piping. Tamar, the curvy diva with dark skin and a wild crescent of shiny curls that hung in her eyes, appeared soon after to take center stage with two backup singers at her side (dubbed “The Twins”), the three ladies wearing matching black dresses. Tamar started the show with “Every Little Step You Take,” a heavy funk track that’s chorus hints at top-40 aspirations.

The stage vibe for the first song represented the entire night’s setup: Tamar wailing the verses with The Twins joining in the choruses, featuring slick choreographed dances while Prince exhibited his rub-your-eyes amazing guitar skillz. The lean backing band laid down conventional heavy-hitting blues-funk beats. Improvisation took a backseat to production value, giving the show a polished, hollow feel to it. Like Ike and Tina Turner doing a cabaret show.

Tamar and her girls sang about a dozen original tracks (presumably off her new album), all the while mixing in covers such as “When A Man Loves A Woman” (allowing Tamar to show off her booming pipes), “Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough,” “What Have You Done For Me Lately” and more. Each cover was impeccably performed, but I couldn’t help but think, ladies, if you’re going to be doing covers, how about choosing a FUCKING PRINCE SONG?! He’s standing right next to you!

Because honestly, if you’ve got Prince on stage, who in the hell wants to hear second-rate Jackson single? I don’t care how great the covers sounded. It’s just not right.

And so it went. Tamar and her backup singers played quality tunes to an enthusiastic crowd pretending we actually paid to see the unheard-of singer. We clapped and danced while waiting for our hero to take over and deliver the goods. Never happened, so we trudged out of the theater giddy but ultimately unsatisfied. Maybe not the memorable experience we’d hoped – a Minnesota favorite playing such an intimate gig – but it certainly beat the pants off whatever else we would have been doing.

Final conclusion: (a) we had just witnessed what amounted to a Vegas show, but (b) as far as Vegas shows go, they don’t get much better than that.

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