“Photos Courtesy of Kaiden Yu/Wolf Trap
Nineties R&B was the vibe on Sunday, August 18th, at the Wolf Trap Center for the Performing Arts in Vienna, Virginia, when Boyz II Men performed, with Bell Biv DeVoe as the opening act.
DJ Shakim, the resident tour DJ for BBD. and New Edition, opened up the show with an impressive Hip Hop set displaying his turntablism skills to cheers from the audience. Around 8:10, BBD was on stage, and the crowd was on their feet. I've lost count of how many times I've seen Bell Biv DeVoe live, and one thing that immediately caught my eye was that Mr. Ricky Bell's voice was off. Slick (as his fan calls him) confirmed my assumption when he mentioned that he was under the weather.
Regretfully, when the group performed their new bops "Run" and "Act Like You Know," the response wasn't as strong, but I account that more for how the industry treats legacy artists as opposed to the quality of the music. As BBD's set winded down, the trio blessed the audience with a medley of New Edition songs before closing out their portion with a lively rendition of "Poison." My minor gripe with the show was omitting their classic ballad "When Will I See You Smile Again" from the setlist.
Three guys from Philly, Boyz II Men, who headlined the show, were up next. They began their show with a luminous video screen before group member Shawn Stockmen appeared on stage playing the guitar. To my surprise, the group opened the show with "Don't Stop" and "Believe Us" from their widely poorly received 2014 album "Collide". While I wasn't a fan of that album, both songs came across better live.
The group then performed a quintet of classics that included "Water Runs Dry," "On Bended Knee," "Please Don't Go," "Uhh Ahh and "4 Seasons Of Loneliness," where Shawn showed out with his falsetto. Having seen the group last year, I knew that the cover medley was coming next. Now, while BIIM can sing the phone book, I would have preferred that they added their up-tempo classics "I Can't Let Her Go," "Thank You," and "Vibin" into the set as opposed to songs from Bruno Mars and Lenny Kravitz.
With the night coming to an end, the group hit the audience triple TKo of "One Sweet Day," "I'll Make Love To You," and "End Of The Road," followed by an encore of "Motownphilly." Despite the familiarity of the set list, Boyz II Men continues to give fans a night to remember.
Final Grade: B+
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