Maxwell’s BLACKsummers’night Tour Touches Toronto

This was a long time coming: Maxwell’s first CD in 8 years dropped in July and then he announced his tour. This was an even longer time coming for me because I have never experienced Maxwell live. Over the years, Maxwell has come to Toronto maybe 3 or 4 times. Either the show had sold out on me or I was out of town. When the announcement came that he was having a show with Chrisette Michele and Common at the Air Canada Centre on September 25th, I jumped at the first opportunity to get tickets.

Chrisette Michele came out first and did a surprisingly short set. I have to admit that I’m not too familiar with her music, only knowing a few of her songs but her performance was good. Her sound was great and so was her band but I felt that her stage presence could have been better. It probably wasn’t totally her fault though, when she came on, the place was only about half full and the crowd didn’t seem too into her performance.

By the time Common came out though, seats began to fill up. His performance was great but was disappointingly short too! I understand that he was an opening act so he very well wouldn’t perform a full set but it only seemed a tad longer than Chrisette’s which was a shame considering Common’s catalogue of music. Common really did connect with the audience as he finally got everyone on their feet especially when he and his DJ quizzed the crowd with some recognizable hip hop tracks. Two other things of note: 1. Common’s DJ (I wish I knew his name!) was on point! He showcased his skills and all I can say is WOW! 2. I had no idea that Muhsinah was touring with Common as a back up singer! If you don’t know who she is, please do yourself a favor and look her up! You may also recognize her as one of the featured singers on The Foreign Exchange’s album, Leave It All Behind.

The man of the night was clearly Maxwell. From the elaborate stage set up to the video screens and his amazing band which included a brass section that had double duty as background singers, everything was wonderful. Despite having a really hoarse voice and almost canceling the show because of it, Maxwell gave a great performance. Apparently he had been in Toronto for 2 weeks prior in preparation for opening the 2nd leg of his tour that night. I suppose he didn’t get enough vocal rest! If you took the hoarseness into consideration, I think he was good vocally and even managed to hit his high notes especially in This Woman’s Work. I’ve read the reviews of this show and heard some criticism from people, saying that they were disappointed in his performance that perhaps he should have rescheduled. Some also thought that the Air Canada Centre (even though they used a smaller theater-type set up) was too big of a venue for Maxwell; even I thought that when I first heard the announcement. Now perhaps I am a bit biased because 1. It was my first time seeing Maxwell and 2. I had floor seats but I thought he did well. The big stage set up was stunning visually with the band set up and the video screens. The stage extended into a runway that was Y shaped and Maxwell used his stage well. There were even 3 trap doors in the Y where he and his band members would come out of to be closer to everyone.

All in all, the BLACKsummers’night tour is not one to be missed and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did!