Stevie Wonder concert
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By Jacob Schneider
Concert Review
Stevie Wonder @ Summerfest
June 28 2009
Just a mere three nights after receiving the news that one of his most admired musical counterparts, "the king of pop," Michael Jackson had died, Stevie Wonder was hardly able to keep it together at times during his headlining performance at Summerfest’s Marcus Amphitheater Sunday night.
After a welcoming opening set by up and coming r&b superstar John Legend, Aisha Morris, Wonder’s daughter, escorted her father to the seat of his piano.
Stevie addressed the crowd, giving a fitting nod to Barrack Obama’s successful election (Stevie also performed at Obama’s inauguration ceremony) saying it was “the most incredible thing to happen in the world,” following that statement Stevie called the death of Michael Jackson a great tragedy because we had lost one of our greatest entertainers in the world.
It was expected that Stevie would mention Jackson’s passing, or perhaps even cover a few of Jackson’s songs throughout the evening, but this concert started to feel like a Michael Jackson memorial ceremony and displayed some very odd moments as it progressed.
After bringing John Legend out for a duet of one of Michael’s songs, it became clear that Stevie Wonder was a man still learning to cope with the loss of a dear friend when he started sobbing uncontrollably as Jackson’s “The Way You Make Me Feel” was played over the house P.A.
After trying to hold the tears back by covering his face, Stevie let loose, keeling over the bench of his piano. It was an alarming sight for those in the front of the house. It appeared as though Wonder was suffering from a seizure as his body winced heavily due to his excessive crying.
Fears were calmed and order was restored after Aisha made her way to her father’s side and consoled him the point where he was able to continue the show. After regaining composure, Stevie told the crowd that he was not ashamed of his heart.
As shocking as it was, it was genuine and heartfelt. Considering that Jackson and Wonder have collaborated in the studio and onstage numerous times throughout their careers, it comes as no surprise that along with all the negativity that surrounded Jackson’s life, he made a great impact on the lives of those closest to him.
The dark cloud of sadness was lifted from the crowd as soon as Stevie began to belt out some long awaited hits like “Higher Ground,” “Uptight,” and “Superstition,” which seemed to breathe some life back into a show that had turned into a sobfest.
No disrespect to Mr. Wonder, or anyone else that is grieving the loss of the superstar, but people spent a lot of money to see a Stevie Wonder show, not to hear Jackson’s tunes played over the house P.A. periodically throughout the night.
It would have been another story if Stevie and his 14 -piece band had actually played a medley of Jackson’s tunes themselves. Hell, that would have been something to brag about seeing, but it was just awkward watching this group of seasoned musicians just standing up there listening to someone else’s music.
Although Stevie did entertain the crowd with numerous hits from his own catalog, the night came to a close with no encore, but rather a string of Jackson hits ending with Jackson’s introspective “Man in the Mirror,” that was once again played over the house P.A.
Those in attendance can definitely say that they saw something special tonight. Emotions ran high and many in the audience were visibly choked up after watching one legend pay his last respects to another, but one can’t help but speculate as to what tonight’s show would have been like under different circumstances.
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