RnB Fridays Live Review
Tanya Mackay & William Edmonds
After last year’s success RnB Fridays live was back to take over the Entertainment Centre for a night filled with RnB hits and old school classics. Boasting a huge line up this show was guaranteed to be an epic night out, with a marathon of hits to dance to. The line started early in the afternoon and when doors opened ready for the first act the energy was already high. The night was MC’d by Fatman Scoop, Hit107’s Ash London and English Chris who got the crowd excited before Ruff Endz, Monifah Christina Milian and Mario took the stage for their individual shorter sets. The crowd loved it and each of these performers brought a great combination of old and new hits that got people dancing early. Mario throwing a bunch for roses in to a crowd of screaming fans towards the end of his performance was particularly well received.
Next up was En Vouge, this old school RnB trio took to the stage and belted out their classic hits including ‘Free Your Mind’ and ‘Whatta Man’, and the energy in the audience increased. Add in some epic pyrotechnics and faultless choreography and they certainly pulled off a fantastic set. The group also performed songs from a soon to be released new, original album which were both catchy and empowering. Kelis was up next, and was one the favorites of the night, not only was her stage presence super fun but she engaged the audience with her infectious smile and unmistakable hits. The audience danced and sang along to the iconic ‘Milkshake’ as well as ‘Millionaire’, ‘Acapella’ and ‘Trick Me’, but it was her rendition of ‘Bounce’ that really got the crowd going and it felt like her set ended much too soon. Before the next headline act DJ Horizon continued to keep the energy high with his countdown, a well-mixed set of nostalgic RnB hits that played between acts.
The crowd screamed as Kelly Rowland appeared, rocking a stunning red two-piece outfit. She commanded the stage, performing early solo song including ‘Work’ and ‘Stole’ as well as an epic melody of Destiny’s Child smash hits. Her back up dancers put on a show, and two young Adelaide ladies were treated to some pretty spectacular dances whilst Rowland sang ‘Cater 2 U’. Rowland was effortless; she oozed talent from her flawless singing and choreography through to a charismatic presence. I think she probably stole the show of all the performances that night. Ne-Yo was up next, and he grabbed attention with a shameless display of RnB cool. During the night it was clear that a large number of people were eagerly awaiting for Ne-Yo’s performance and he didn’t disappoint with his big hits including ‘So Sick’, ‘She Knows’, ‘Miss Independent’ and ‘Closer’. He entertained with his signature dance moves, as well as a professional and well-rehearsed set. However, the crowd seemed to lose some of their spark, maybe due to the slick nature of his show, maybe even a sense of ‘going through the motions’ or conversely… it could have just been the result of being mid-way into the massive 7 hour gig.
Craig David followed; this 90’s RnB legend certainly didn’t look as old as I felt as he moved into Dj’ing some of his huge hits including ‘Fill Me In’ and ‘Rewind’. This set was a little different being Craig David presents TS5. Instead of crooning through his iconic songs the star took to the decks to sing and mix at the same time. This resulted in a eclectic mash up of old tunes and new songs from his upcoming album as well as other classic RnB hits that gave the Entertainment Centre a hot and jumping night club vibe. It was clear though some of the crowd was not familiar with the new musical direction taken by Craig David and the lack of traditional Craig David style tracks seemed to disappoint. Personally, I think his new work was great, allowing him to reconnect with new audiences whilst still drawing on his past hits. The final artist and big headliner Sean Paul wrapped up the night, appearing in a jacket that only someone as outlandishly RnB as himself could pull off. He pulled out all the fan favourites including ‘Got 2 Luv U’, ‘Rockabye’ and ‘Temperature’. Sean Paul definitely wound up the night with a bang and the audience loved every minute of it.
Overall RnB Fridays Live combined a festival style vibe with the feel of a packed RnB nightclub, pulling off an amazing show that catered for new and old school fans alike. The constantly screaming and dancing crowd made it pretty clear Adelaide certainly enjoyed every second. Hopefully we see plenty more shows coming into town like this one in 2018!
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