The 1.75 Coming-Maxwell Brings PandeMOANium to the Fox
by Nunee
On September 21, Maxwell was backstage at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA. I was on the other side of the curtain, feenin' for a glimpse, but trying to remain calm. I was in the 4th row at the DC show, but this time I was heady for a different reason...I was in the nosebleed seats! Either way, don't hate-- I never got to sit in the coveted chair.
Melanie Camacho came out at 8:30 and split the folx sides for about 30 minutes. Then M helped us count our blessings for a hot minute.
The lights went down and the smoke poured out. "Everwanting:To Want You To Want" starts to wah-wah out of the speakers. Maxwell decides he wants to tease us and sings the entire first verse without letting us see him. But it is ALLL GOOD, cuz the second verse makes ya wanna curse. He saunters out in the now-familiar white suit and white kufi. SUPRISE, the braids were back...and FRESHLY Bergamot down(I know cuz I could see his scalp from my binocular-view)! He let it float into "Im You:You Are Me and We Are You" and does his thang with the female singer. I think he just uses that as an excuse to...take off his jacket and kill the ladies with those pythons! M. and Ms. La Tina Webb shimmy into a foggy light and even THAT light goes out when they "kiss"...
He rolls into a familiar tune, "Sumthin, Sumthin", to get the crowd off their feet...it works! The lights go OUT...you hear his tinny voice begging for gratitude.."Thank you", he whispers. You hear the familiar strains of "This Woman's Work", and the pink light comes up on M. He asks us if we know this song. We answer by singing along with him. He breaks it down, and at the end, he thanks God for helping him "make it go away, nooooow". The lights are out, and Gratitude walks through M's mouth again..."Thank you soooo much!"
After M finds out if he's still "Welcome" in the ATL, the next 20 minutes are dedicated to Embrya. A disappointing note: he didn't do "Gravity:Pushing to Pull". Those who have attended know that the visual effects M employs on this joint are devestating; a definite high point of the show. He did perform "Know These Things: Shouldn't You", "Submerge:Til We Become The Sun", and a tight new version of "Luxury:Cococure"
Then the moment everyone past the 20th row had been waiting for: House lights up, M is sitting down...PLEASE, PICK ME! Using his laser-beam nocs, he chose a fianced lady in RED named Tami: "The lady in the red dress. You have a silver purse...COME On DOOOOOOWN!" M gave thanks to Tami's fiance for letting her come down, and told him that he was gonna hook HIM up. Tami was excited and M greeted her with MUCH love. He then sang "Whenever, Wherever, Whatever" for her:"...Y lo que te alga falta/te daria el aire que respiro/y si al fin desea hacer amor in me/Cuando, Donde, O Lo Que Seahhhhhh..." She couldn't stand it (who COULD??).
M then decides to talk to the fellas for a minute. He talks about how women got it GOIN' ON..."the one that got her own car, her own credit cards...she don't need YOU...she calls YOU for the booty call, and then sends YOU home...WITH CAB FARE!" He segues into the introduction to the cut he is dropping soon "Get To Know You". Folx were singing the chorus at the end; hoping Max would drop a digit or seven of his own! Then he says..."Fellaaas...what happens after you get to know her? Awwww, come on!" Then we KNOW it's on, cuz ye olde familiar riffs of "Til The Cops Come Knocking"...well, they start to knock. Before the end, he does remind his fellas: "Sometiiiiimes, it's not about the sex!"
Alas, the end must come, and it did...he sang "Ascension", and then let us sing it without him for a long time. Imagine what it must be like, to hear 5,000 folx singing YOUR SHIZNIT. He tried to leave, but our Affection had him chained to the stage. He did "Fortunate", regular and dance-hall sound. He broke it down and did a call-respond with his Beeps "...oh, oh, WO-ohhhh....oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oooooooh" Then he added the funk, and, even though Embrya is the latest work from hiM, he shoNUFF left us "hangin" for more.
Oh yeah...he got another box of Cap'n Crunch. It is just me or does our boy have breakfast for days????