Concert Review: John Legend

Attending the John Legend concert on Thursday November 17, 2005, at the Riverside Theatre was somewhat like attending a church service. Not in the sense that anything divine was going on, but rather that people were standing and sitting together in unison and there were plenty of women that would have gladly been willing to kneel at the altar of John Legend if given the chance.

The cause for all this commotion is well-founded. Legend tore through all the cuts off his debut album Get Lifted — an Alicia Keys-like album, except with songs about cheatin' on your girl and appearances by Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and a gospel choir.

Indeed, perhaps the biggest and most unavoidable flaw of the show was the lack of those powerhouse guests and a full choir. "Number One" just wasn't the same without Kanye rhyming about his fidelity troubles. Also, without the guest appearance, the song clocked in at a scant two-and-a-half minutes. "I Can Change" was changed too much with the lack of one Snoop Dogg and all of his "nephew" references. Surprisingly, the raps were completely skipped over altogether, forgoing any attempt to have anyone else even try them. Thankfully, Legend's voice is so strong he was able to carry the rest of the songs on his own.

He was the consummate entertainer all night long, handling an embarrassing microphone miscue that created about a 15 minute delay. During the search for a working mic, Legend continued to entertain the audience, playing his version of the "Jeopardy" waiting music that eventually morphed into a full band version of the tune.

He probably didn't say more than five or six sentences the whole evening but elicited plenty of reaction from the crowd, whether it was by singing the hook of the Kanye song he appears on, or ripping off a few shirts, to the delight of the females in attendance.

One of the strengths of Get Lifted is how easily it transitions between raucous and uplifting and slow and contemplative. This carried over well to the concert, with people getting up and shaking their thing during the smash hit "Used to Love U." During the song, Legend walked back and forth across the stage, urging the crowd to sing along. For "Ordinary People" the lights switched to a dark blue, and it was just Legend and a piano. It was almost like you had just walked into a blues lounge and were witnessing the birth of a star.

The latter part may very well turn out to be true.

With Legend's musical credits already including work with Lauryn Hill and Jay-Z, Get Lifted seems like only the start of something rather than the culmination. Judging from his ability to put on a great show and craft songs that so obviously speak to the masses, Legend should be around for awhile.

Grade: AB