It wasn’t just a night of love, it was a night of musical genius; an open air celebration of soulful ballads smoothly delivered by the gifted R&B crooner, John Legend.
No band and no back-up singers – as if he needed them – were there as supporting acts, just the singer, his piano, and all the inspiration a man really needs on a night like that, a beautiful wife who is both a muse and in his own words “my rhythm and blues”.
John Legend is, to put it simply, pure talent. The kind of talent that takes a stage on the same night as the incomparable Beres Hammond and escapes the “forgettable” label. But he’s not just good, he’s effortlessly good with a repertoire of satisfying music that fuses old soul and groovy love ballads.
When he sat at his piano and belted out the single, “Made to Love” to open his set on Sunday morning last at the Guyana National Stadium, fans appreciatively applauded. The opening felt intimate – a nearly private moment with the singer feeding us a piano flourish, expressing an enviable, “created by God” kind of love, and him locking eyes with the wife as he sang, “I was sent here for you//We were made to love//We were made to love”.
For the hopeless romantics everywhere, John Legend is a vessel of encouragement and optimism. What’s there not to applaud? What’s there not to love?
His music is gorgeous and he plays the piano with rousing enthusiasm and unshowy skill. Throughout his 68 minutes set here, he powered through ballads from previous albums such as the breath-taking “Stay With You” to the baby-making rapture of “So High” before mixing things up with fresh hits like “Who Do We Think We Are” and the candid, soul-baring “All of Me”.
There were some moments during his performance that seemed like a discourse on the fragility of life and love, and the importance of empathy in relationships. Legend’s natural talent as a song-writer is clear by the quality of his writing, even if the lyrics are sometimes clichés.
It was expected that he would sit at his piano, perform, and pretty much blow our minds because that is what he does. There was no need for him to get up and jump around the stage to connect with his fans, he had us from the opening piano flourish and the lines, “I was sent here for you//We were made to love”. He had some of us from the minute he graced the stage looking his usual dapper self and flashing that playful smile.
Riding on the squeals of overly enthusiastic female fans, some positioned within inches of Legend and his piano, the singer took his Guyanese fans on a journey filled with love, pain, triumphs, disappointment and fun.
Early in the performance he smirked his way through the single “Tonight (Best You’ve Ever Had)” and as he crooned the hook, he looked into the audience and dropped a few winks.
“He was definitely winking at me!” a female fan declared. Sure he was; you and every other star-struck female fan close to the stage. Understandably, the women couldn’t get enough of Legend and about every two minutes one would shout out, “I love you John!” or something close to “John, oh John” delivered with velvety tones.
About half-way into his performance he stepped things up with the 2008 hit “Green Light” and the popular, “No Other Love”. When he performed the touching “Ordinary People” the singer realised that his vocals – as superior as they are – were not needed, the fans were eager to croon the single for him and they even harmonised.
As he neared the close of his set, Legend got up and left the stage saying “Thank you” and articulated what he wonderful time he had in Guyana.
The fans were stunned because at this point he had not yet performed the current hit “All of Me”.
Chants of “We want more, we want more” rang out and as if coordinated, Legend appeared back on stage, sat at the piano and served up the requested “All of Me”. The single is penetrating, ode-like and beautiful, and he delivered it with the right amount of intimacy.
Legend regularly talks about his optimistic outlook on life and how he lives and breathes music – his performance here was a testimony of this, it was nothing short of genius. But he was not only expected to wow us – he was also expected to assist in the procreative activities of some locals, steal a few hearts, and trigger a bit of pandemonium among the female fans. He lived up to the hype and the expectations, I dare say, all of the expectations.
Note – Beres Hammond’s performance was not reviewed. I refer you to a previous review in these pages which had professed that Hammond is a God-like figure posing as a man.
