Toronto audiences could not have asked for a better, exciting gift before the holiday seasons by having legendary artist Stevie Wonder bless the audience at the Air Canada Centre November 12th 2007.
Stevie Wonder’s flawless, excellent, breathtaking performance, stunned, amazed overwhelmed and dazzled the large Toronto audience who embraced every song, note, and lyric that Stevie poured onto the microphone, the piano and keyboard. Stevie Wonder started his set with some of his older tracks such as “All I Do” and “Cherie Amour” where Toronto audiences sang their hearts out. Stevie Wonder even decided to be creative and used a vocoder to redo some songs such as KC and the Sunshine Band, Zapp feat Roger (whom his voice sounded very similar to when using the vocoder) and other classic old skool funk songs.
One of the memorable moments of the concert included was when Stevie sang “Ribbons In The Sky” when he had the audience participate (the women singing one part and the men singing another part and blending them together.) Being a true musical genius he had the audience singing together in unsurprisingly harmony that not only surprised him but the audience as well. Stevie Wonder then continued with his R&B ballads with tracks such as “Lately” (whom Jodeci had covered in the later years) and other soulful tracks. Stevie Wonder of course played and teased with the audience, even doing a “country remix” of one of his songs which entertained and amused his Canadian audience.
Of Course Stevie Wonder did his other hits such as “Reggae Woman” and “Superstition,” ending off his performance with another memorable performance featuring Canadian R&B singer Glenn Lewis with “I Just Called To Say I Love You.” Seeing Glenn Lewis and Stevie Wonder up on stage was like seeing a father and son protégé, as many music fans that know Glenn Lewis are aware of his vocals being compared to that of Stevie Wonder. Though embarrassingly and nervously Glenn Lewis forgot some of the lyrics to the song, his singing still captivating audiences who were either familiar with him or not. Stevie Wonder made one quote that baffled the audiences but still clapped in agreement: “To those people who only hate, do us all a favor and go to hell.”

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

Toronto could not enjoy a better first of day spring by having legendary funk old skool band SOS band perform at the Capital Theatre on Thursday March 20th 2008. The mature 30+ crowd, who were all dressed formerly in black and white, waited in anticipation for the SOS Band to grace the stage.

With high energy, enthusiasm and thrive, the SOS band blessed their hungry audience with their hits such as “Tell Me If You Still Care,” “Just Be Good To Me,” Take Your Time” and ending their great performance with “Just The Way You Like It.” Mary Davis, lead singer of the SOS Band still possessed the charm, voice and attractiveness she did when she first started blessing the microphone with the SOS Band.

Their flawless performance entertained the eager Toronto audience who danced, grooved and sang the night away. Feeding off the crowd, the SOS Band decided to do a little remix by bridging one of their songs with a remake of Fat Joe’s “Lean Back” which surprised a number of people.

With a sound performance, excellent vocals and tunes that reminded everyone of the good old days, the SOS Band really did give an outstanding performance just the way everyone liked it.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

Torontonians received special treatment on Saturday June 30th at the Molson Amphitheatre with a concert that they would never forget. The Molson Amphitheatre held the Ice Cream Summer Fest Concert; an event that featured a number of R&B artists from the 90’s. Artists included on this bill were Donell Jones, Carl Thomas, K-Ci and JoJo, Jagged Edge, SWV and New Edition.

Chicago native Donell Jones was first to come on stage. He performed a number of hits including, “Say What” and Stevie Wonder’s “Knocks Me Off My Feet”. Ladies shrieked as he sang other songs such as “Where I Wanna Be” and “You Know That I Love You.”
Following Donell Jones was the smooth, former Bad Boy R&B singer Carl Thomas. He got the Toronto audience moving with songs such as “Emotional”, his renowned “I Wish” and his seductively smooth “Summer Rain.” Carl Thomas also sang some new material from his new album “So Much Better” which is presently in stores. Next on the bill was the Hailey brothers K-Ci and JoJo from Jodeci. Their performance was probably one of the most memorable ones from this concert. If you have not seen these two perform be prepared to be entertained. Still sounding like the days of Jodeci, K-Ci and JoJo performed an immense number of songs such as “Life,” “All My Life” as well other songs from their Jodeci bad boy days like “Get On Up” and “Love You For Life.” K-Ci was so energetic in his performance that he kicked off his shoes, took of his shirt and started gyrating his waist to his songs to a surprised, but entertained audience. He even went as far as hopping on a security guard’s shoulders whilst being paraded through the audience. Adorned audiences all rushed to the front to get a picture of the 90’s R&B crooner.
Jagged Edge performed next. Only three of the members were present: twins Brandon "Case Deniro” and Brian “Brasco” Casey and Richard “Wingo Dollar.” Wingo however did not distract the female fans from screaming to their performances of “Promise,” “I Gotta Be” and “Let’s Get Married.”

Next on the bill was SWV who announced to an upset crowd that this would be their last performance together as a group after announcing last year that they would be re-uniting and coming out with a new album. Despite this, SWV performed an unforgettable, excellent performance to the treasured and esteemed Toronto crowd. Songs such as “Right Here (Human Nature),” “I’m So Into You,” “Use Your Heart” and “Anything” were just some songs that SWV sang to their eager crowd. Cheryl “Coko” Gamble-Clemmons, the lead singer from SWV astonished everyone with her high talented vibrant voice that still sounded the same from when SWV started. SWV of course could not leave the stage without performing their hit song “Weak” which the entire audience sang.

Last but certainly not least the Toronto crowd geared up for New Edition. Coming with a full band, Ricky, Ron, Michael, Johnny (minus Ralph who unfortunately could not make it due to illness,) were all dressed in white suits and performed the same energetic dance routines they did when they were a younger band. Despite Ralph’s absence, which disappointed a number of audience members, Ricky conveniently covered Ralph’s vocals, which were enough to make the upset audience dance and sing along. New Edition performed a large number of tracks including, “Mr. Telephone Man,” “Candy Girl” and “Cool it down.” Johnny Gill also performed some of his songs such as “My My My” which sent the female members of the audience screaming in their seats. Ricky, Ron and Michael who are known for their own group “Bel Biv Devoe” covered some of their own songs such as “Do Me” and concluded the concert with their infamous song “Poison” which the entire amphitheatre including SWV (who joined them on stage) sang along to. The Ice Cream Summer Fest was definitely a memorable concert this summer, filled with great music, great artists and great vibes.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

A number of legendary jazz musicians made their presence during the Toronto Jazz Festival, one of them being the extremely talented jazz funk musician Herbie Hancock. Mr. Hancock’s last performance in Toronto was in October 2001 at the Massey Hall where he performed an unforgettable performance. Now with two additional albums under his synthesizer belt making it an incredible 46 albums he has released, Mr. Hancock returned on June 27th, 2007, performing in Toronto’s new Four Seasons Centre with his Quartet band.

The performance by far was excellent and the quiet yet thrilled and entertained Toronto jazz audiences watched in awe as Mr. Hancock performed superlatively with his other band members. Herbie Hancock performed his well-known tunes such as “Watermelon Man” as well as playing material from his latest albums. He performed his single “Stitched up” that featured John Mayer (with Herbie Hancock’s bass player providing the vocals) and his beautiful cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Just Called To Say I Love You” from his 2005 album “Possibilities.” He also performed “Lullaby” and “Cottonfield” from his 1998 album “Gershwin’s world.”

Herbie Hancock is an unconditional genius when it comes to creating and producing music. Audience members kept their eyes pasted on Mr. Hancock’s fingers as he manipulated the piano, keyboard and synthesizer with such perfection that would make any music fanatic just pause in amazement. In one particular song, he had his synthesizer keyboard mimic voices singing in harmony making it sound like there were actual backup singers on stage. The phenomenal resonance he created not only mystified the minds of his audience but also enhanced and his piece. Herbie Hancock no doubt, finished his concert by doing his infamous song “Chameleon” which had the reserved yet delighted Toronto Jazz audience clapping and moving.

Herbie Hancock no doubt is a musical genius and his performance at the Four Seasons Centre left Jazz fanatics and novices alike astounded and flabbergasted.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]

After an amazing performance last year at the Harborfront in Toronto and also being recently nominated for a BET music award, soulful singer Eric Roberson blessed Toronto audiences again on Thursday June 21st at the Lulu lounge. If you have not checked out this artist, I highly suggest you do, as Eric Roberson knows how to put on a performance and captivate his audience with his music. Coming on stage dressed totally casual (t-shirt, a vest, jeans and running shoes) Eric tantalized the ladies in the audience with some tracks from his new album "Left" such as “Pretty Girl” and “Open Your Eyes.” He also sang songs from previous albums such as “Change For Me ” and “Couldn’t Hear Me Over The Music.” Eric Roberson’s friendly demeanor adds to the enjoyment of this concert. Not only does he sing to his audience but he talks with them and converses with them. Eric is also a genius when it comes to creativity. He did a little acapella version of him placing an order at McDonalds when confronting an attractive woman who is serving him. He gave a little tip to the guys out there about how not to screw up your relationships. One can’t help but just sit there and listen to Eric Roberson’s lyrics as he sings into the microphone. Eric’s meaningful lyrics will do nothing but allow you to nod to the beat which is what most of the audience did throughout his performance.

Eric Roberson’s voice is unforgettable. He not only uses his voice to convey his lyrics but he also uses it as an instrument being able to hit certain keys and hold them too. His soulful, genuine, mellow voice conveys instantly that he only sings from the heart. This also shows that his voice is not studio produced which seems to be the latest trend lately for a lot of R&B artists. To the delight and surprise of everyone, Eric Roberson chilled with everyone at the end of his performance - signing CD’s, taking pictures and just chilling, which is very down to earth from this New Jersey artist.
Be sure to check out Eric Roberson’s latest album “Left”.

Dwight Barrett [Just Soul]