The venue was as expected. Overly priced concessions. Loved the fact that the pit seating was properly spaced and we were not sitting on top of each other.
El Debarge - I loved him!!! His voice was on piont, and he gave a great show. His band, however, seemed like they were a recently assembled group of local musicians who did very well but could have been just a little bit better. They played beautifully but did not/ could not follow his flow or pick up on cues for when he wanted to do things like "break it down"during a song or "run"the music after the song was technically over for ad lib singing. Like they reached the official end of the song, then was completely silent while El was still signing, trying to give it to some lady in the audience. LOL! They weren't good at noticing and following subtle hand signals, and it would have been nice if they could sing or had backup singers. But I still give the overall performance an A, it was great!!! Can't wait to see El Debarge again!
Pattie Labelle - Although Pattie Labelle was the headliner, my interest in this concert was primarily for El Debarge. I've seen her many, many times over the years and think she's a great singer, but I wouldn't have purchased tickets if she came to Detroit on her own. Get it, "I'm own my ownđ¶đ¶đ¶", LOL! While I was indifferent about even staying for her performance, I thought she did better than good for a 79/80 year old that's still performing and touring. She was absolutely beautiful and her overall performance with her band and singers was somewhere between "meh"and "very okay". Things got very awkward when Pattie gave a lady in the audience a pair of shoes, then "ungifted"them a little while later. While signing a song, Pattie picked up a pair of shoes she had displayed on top of a piano, walked to the edge of the stage, and handed them to a lady in the audience. Chick was ecstatic. The shoes were beautiful! She put them on and then began to dance while her homegirls were taking pictures. After the song, Pattie says, "Who did I give my shoes to?"The chick raised her leg to show how they were a perfect fit. Pattie, with suprise and a little disgust, commented, "Oh! girl, you put your feet in my shoes!"Then, in her typical Pattie voice, she says, "Girl, dont you leave outta here with my shoes, those are very expensive. "Everyone is so confused! Soon after, a guy comes out, hops over the pit seating barrier, and gets on the floor with a flashlight looking for the feet that rehomed Pattie Labelle's shoes. He gently but intently removed them from her feet, hopped back over the barrier, and disappeared behind the stage. How humiliating! She thought Pattie gave her the shoes; we all did! The lady just sat there like a statue absent of any movement and suffered through the rest of the concert. While it appears that Pattie gave the shoes away on mistake, she absolutely should have just let the lady keep them. To make the situation even more embarrassing, the trumpet player stood right in front of the chick to taunt/tease her. He even poked his bottom lip out to mimic pouting during their solo time. All of this was so not cool! At the end of the concert, Pattie Labelle blew the lady a kiss. I wound have returned her affection by flipping her the bird. THE END!