Reviewed on Sunday September 13 (photo by Ashley Mar)
A genuine commercial phenomenon who has sold some 67 million records, Toni Braxton’s first visit to these shores is marked with a level of pandemonium at odds with her super slick and often feather-light music. From the opening ‘He Wasn’t Man Enough’, which sees a stop-start rhythm recede into the background of her honeyed vocals, fans at the front are clamouring to touch their idol and their obvious devotion is rewarded in a crowd-pleasing, interactive affair.
She’s forever plucking audience members up onto stage, like on ‘Another Sad Love Song’, where one confident gentleman struts around like a seasoned pro and even takes it upon himself to shout out Braxton’s sisters Trina and Towanda on backing vocals. Later, she brings couples up to dance with her, be serenaded and even just pose for selfies. It brings a level of spontaneity to what could have been an overly slick, regimented production and produces moments of joy, like when Braxton is so struck by the booming voice of one audience member that she invites her onstage. The woman’s delirious happiness at singing with her idol is palpable, and it’s hard not to be won over.
A couple of times security are keen to intervene with potentially over-eager fans, but Braxton herself handles the feverish enthusiasm with aplomb and proves every bit a star presence. After a fairly baffling video excerpt of her family’s reality TV show, she re-emerges in a sequin-studded jumpsuit to heavy-breathe her way through ‘You’re Makin’ Me High’ and then alternately coo coquettishly and vamp it up for a cover of The Isley Brothers’ ‘Between The Sheets’.
Sister Trina gets one song of her own to shine, but mostly the focus is on the impossibly youthful-looking Toni, who obliges the fans by taking some requests, including ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Spanish Guitar’. She wisely plays up the silliness of ‘I Wish’, perhaps the most saccharine-sounding song to contain lyrics about hoping your ex contracts a disease, before ending with the silken slow jam ‘Un-Break My Heart’. When the definitive history of ’90s R&B is written, there’ll be a whole chapter on this song.
