Lifted by so much soul: John Legend wowed about 3,000 fans at the Plenary Hall in KL Convention Centre on Sept 23.
If you have ever wondered how John Legend got his start in music (but were too lazy to go through his Wikipedia entry), all you need to do is to go for his All Of Me Tour concert.
At his Tuesday night sold-out performance in Plenary Hall at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Legend shared the history of his music career – and to an extent, personal life – through song, narration and jokes.
The 3,000-odd crowd seemed appreciative of Legend's attempts at keeping the music raw and unadulterated, with only the help of some fancy lighting to spice up the show every now and then.
Yes, his was an intimate and unplugged performance, with only the R&B/soul singer's crisp and clear vocals, and the majestic sound of his piano (which he himself took charge of), dominating in each track.
There were also a string quartet, a bass player, two additional guitarists and a drummer on stage, but they only appeared for certain numbers like Save Room, Let's Get Lifted and Maxine.
Although it was a little weird that Legend felt like he had to explain what Maxine was all about – it's about a guy who saw his girlfriend/wife on a date with another man – he did include an anecdote about the song that involved his grandmother. Apparently, Legend was unaware that his grandmother's middle name was also Maxine when he wrote it. She called him up after the song was released.
"She was so happy that I wrote a beautiful song about her ... I don't think she paid attention to the words, though," said the multiple Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter.
Legend played 19 tracks altogether, three of which were covers of classic hits that needed no introduction. Nevertheless, he did talk about how he got the chance to play at a MusiCares tribute concert to US rock icon Bruce Springsteen, after playing one of the latter's hits with The Roots on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon months before.
"Bruce Springsteen wrote to me and asked me if I could play at the MusiCares concert. I guess he approved of my cover," said Legend, before launching into a soulful, piano-heavy rendition of Dancing In The Dark.
The other covers were Michael Jackson's Rock With You, where Legend prompted the seated audience to stand up and dance, and Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water. Even if you weren't a big fan of this track, you would've been mesmerised by Legend's stripped down, powerful version of the 1970s classic.
The hall reverberated each note, and the audience, thankfully, kept still and silent throughout. This allowed the singer to give his all without any unwanted "hollabacks" from Legend wannabes in the crowd (there weren't many of that either, fortunately).
Towards the end of the show, Legend still had not performed his biggest hit of 2014 – the gorgeously romantic but over-played All Of Me, a track he wrote for his wife, model Chrissy Teigen. She did not travel with him, by the way.
Expectedly, that song was saved for the encore, a seemingly fitting ending for his show. However, the track did not have as much charisma as some of the others like Again, Who Do We Think We Are and So High, which are from his earlier albums.
Still, by the time he wrapped up the concert, one couldn't help but feel satisfied with how good the night had turned out. More than anything, it gives us hope that amid all the artistes constantly making "songs" about body parts, we can always count on prodigies like John Legend to entertain us with actual music and actual singing.
Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/Lifestyle/Entertainment/Music/News/2014/09/25/John-Legends-Kuala-Lumpur-show-was-an-impressive-display-of-real-talent/
