Talk about milking a crowd!
Boyz II Men know how to make people scream.
Not just cheer, mind you - scream.
Shawn Stockman, Michael "Bass" McCary, Nate and Wanya
Morris sang to 14,000 people Sunday night in Deer Creek
Music Center, using proven stage tactics to get the crowd
to scream for more.
They threw red roses into the audience during "I'll Make
Love to You." They danced in synch like The Temptations
during several numbers. And they took a long pause near
the end of "On Bended Knee," much like Michael Jackson does
on "She's Out of My Life" - the crowd filling the space with
predictable screams.
And when that didn't work, they weren't above getting down
and dirty: One member lay prone on the stage to get his
point across during "Please Don't Go."
The group blends '50s streetcorner harmonies with '60s
Motown, '70s soul, '80s pop, and '90s hip-hop-crooning,
strutting, stalking, bumping, kicking, begging and
pleading. With their multigenerational point of reference,
it's no wonder The Boyz are megastars at a time when pop
culture is torn over its nostalgic focus.
Boyz II Men hit the stage about 9 PM and performed for 90
minutes, joined by a seven-piece band and a giant Boyz II Men
logo backdrop - a reproduction of the group's current album
cover.
They used explosions, towering flame colums and spinning,
shooting, showering sparks at several points in the
show.
But none of this distracted from the group's trademark vocal harmonies. They've got the goods as singers-despite the electronically enhanced vocals on their two Motown albums. If only the sound people had brought the group's harmonies up in the mix.
You won't find an Eddie Kendricks, a Melvin Franklin or David Rufflin among these '90s-style Temptations but The Boyz are real singers in an era of pop.
They did all the hits, "End of the Road," "Please Don't Go," "Motownphilly," "Uhh Ahh," and a snippet of "It's so Hard to say Goodbye to Yesterday."
On "Water Runs Dry" the current Boyz single written and produced by Indianpolis native, Babyface, raindrops fell from above the stage. And on "50 Candles" - 100 or more lighted white candles rose from under the stage.