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Gesica™ |
An intimate
evening with mary j. blige
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LIVE AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES |
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| Here comes
classic Mary with her tight
knickers, 2 button silk shirt
and blond wig. Mary’s hair was
done and her nails did. Finished
with Smokey Eye and gangsta boo
earrings…Mary set it off up in
the House of Blues. |
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By Tonisha Johnson |
Backdrop: soft pastels, low lights and
ballroom curtains surround the energetic
on-point band and her sexy back up
singers perfectly placed to the left of
her. And with each song that Mary sang,
beginning with all time favorite Be
Happy off her sophomore album My Life,
Mary, the band and them backups had it
down…cold, sounding just like the
original. Not a note or key was out of
place. It’s as if the record was playing
along with them.
Typical Mary which we all love; who of
course could not perform without making
you cringe. Made the songs speak to you
personally with hangs swinging, head
moving and tons of yelling like she was
talking directly at you.
When she sang “She said it’s your
child”, Mary went off on the mic and
fell to pieces. In each cry of anger she
voiced through song I closed my eyes
tight and grabbed my headset, shaking my
head. I can’t begin to time how many
minutes it took to recover from that one
song. All I know is…I still continue to
wipe my eyes and shake my head as I
write this.
And just when you thought she blessed
the mic. After crying, screaming,
banging chairs and stomping…and that was
just Mary. She personally introduces the
next song which brought millions to
tears, “No More Drama”. Mary hollered
and it was tight. Mary jumped and it was
tight. Mary said “I truly feel like I’m
butt naked…and don’t give a damn. And
that was tight.
The night was filled with renditions of
old and new songs like Phillip Bailey’s
“Children of the Ghetto”. Where she let
a color blind audience take a look at
where she comes from.
Guest stars Sting and Elton John who was
about to hit the crowd with
Maaaaaarrrrry..until she said “no…lets
do something else.” And gave the
audience I Guess That’s Why They Call It
the Blues.
The best thing about this 14 song DVD
and the performance itself was how
neither Mary nor the camera focused too
much on the celebrity filled event that
included “party boy” as Mary so
graciously addressed P. Diddy. Jay Z,
Lil Kim and Nick & Jessica Lachey.
Although she did thank and praise Ellen
Degeneres for coming, who was way up in
the balcony clearly jamming to the vibes
Mary was throwing off.
Years could pass and Mary could still
bust off like it was yesterday. Her form
of singing is like Luther Vandross who
once said at a Madison Square Garden
sold out performance in the early 90s
“Where’s the $35 seats? You gonna get
your money’s worth tonight”.
This entertainment packed DVD has “The
Day w/Mary” bonus feature. From putting
the entire show together. To the people
who were in on it. Of course, Mathew
Knowles, marketing extraordinaire and
daddy of Beyonce Knowles blessed the
project with his corporate business
skills. You can catch that in the
credits if your looking to know who’s
really WHO in the industry.
Catch Mary selecting tracks, practicing
vocals and signing off on breakfast in
robe and towel before getting on stage.
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Copyright © 2005 Gesica Magazine |
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