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REVIEW: Stevie Wonder a continuing wonder

By Mark Brown, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 2, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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Stevie Wonder had the crowd at Fiddler's Green in the palm of his hand during his first appearance in Colorado in 13 years.

Photo by Brian Lehmann / The Rocky

Stevie Wonder had the crowd at Fiddler's Green in the palm of his hand during his first appearance in Colorado in 13 years.

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REVIEW

Stevie Wonder is so beloved and tours so infrequently that merely being in his presence can be a transcendent experience for fans. So when he came to Colorado for the first time in 13 years, fans were rapt, whether it was during his songs or during the long asides he made to the crowd.

Rather than opening with a blockbuster hit or the latest single as most artists would, Wonder simply came to center stage and made a plea for unity and understanding - not a political stance, just a humanistic one. He concluded with "So, you wanna hear some music?"

The crowd was his for the taking after that.

What they got was two hours of every facet of Wonder, from the life-changing hits to a new unreleased song. With 13 musicians onstage the sound got a little bit thick at times - for once, this was a concert where the lawn seats had vastly better sound than the expensive ones.

With three keyboards, three backing vocalists, three percussionists (four, if you count the crowd) and more, Wonder had everything at his disposal to do crack re-creations of even his most complex songs. And on the simpler ones the band simply stood down and let Wonder's voice and piano come through.

The highlights were spaced throughout the set, where Wonder would indulge himself in his own passions before letting loose with a blockbuster hit.

As if he doesn't have enough history on his own, he dipped into that of others, singing the Stylistics' Betcha By Golly Wow and the Chi-Lites' Have You Seen Her? as an intro to an intense version of Wonder's own Higher Ground.

Those '70s anthems, when Wonder's music was the pulse of society, were still timeless yet urgent, helped by the fact that Wonder's voice has not lost a note of range or power in the ensuing years.

When he broke out classics like Living for the City or Isn't She Lovely (the latter of which made his daughter cry onstage), you had the feeling that music's ability to bind a performer to his audience just doesn't get any better than this.

Even new songs like the unreleased Keep Fooling Yourself Baby Girl were greeted with enthusiasm by the crowd. The only time patience was truly tested was during the overly lengthy band introductions that found the crowd drifting away a bit.

The show started a bit late, presumably due to a box-office traffic jam that left many fans outside the venue at the scheduled start time.

Wonder finished with an encore that included You Are the Sunshine of My Life and Superstition, hits that truly defined a generation.

Let's hope it's not 13 years next time around.

Stevie Wonder

*Where and when: Tuesday night, Fiddler's Green

*Grade: B+

Comments

  • July 2, 2008

    11:26 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    kemperac writes:

    I was there. It was AMAZING! My only complaint is that if a show starts late due to "Box office issues" shouln't they let the Show go past that 10:30 cerfew. It feels like Live Nation stole 30 minutes from me and after an awesome show like that, 30 more minutes of that show are priceless!

    Stevie PLEASE do not wait another 13 years to give us another experiance like that!

    TRUELY GREAT!

  • July 2, 2008

    1:10 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mark Brown writes:

    Stevie still played his full set, fortunately. As he noted in the show, he had to skip a meet-and-greet after the performance to attend a funeral back east.

  • July 2, 2008

    4:24 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    mattz writes:

    It was amazing! Stevie broke down as well as he was doing "Isn't She Lovely", but we had his back! Strong and uniting as ever!

    Please print your tix out beforehand, it makes life so much easier.

  • July 3, 2008

    2:02 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    teton_dave writes:

    Yeah, the show started late ('Stevie time...') but when he arrived he speaks so much of unity, peace and in a way of having fun & in a FUNKY tone that it's hard not to love his message. I too was moved to tears at 'Isn't She Lovely' and also at 'Visions', Living for the City' and 'Golden Lady' in sequence. Was disappointed at nothing from a Time2Love but he could have played for another 3 hours and not hit all of the songs that move me. I really don't like Fiddlers Green (parking and access s**ks) but if that's where Stevie is playing, I'll see him there. like kemperac - PLEASE do not wait another 13 years!

  • July 3, 2008

    10:16 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Mark Brown writes:

    Two things to add:

    Someone left me a voicemail saying Stevie played the Paramount about four or five years ago. That was our initial recollection too, but we checked the database and it was actually 1995. Time flies as we all get older.

    Also, a woman called wanting to know what the criteria is for Stevie to get an A (I gave the show a B+). The grade reflects the overall show, not just Stevie's performance -- the bad sound up close, the box office snafu, the overly long band intros. I gave McCartney a B+ several years ago for bad sound as well despite a great performance. I think they owe it to their fans (especially at McCartney prices) to make sure every aspect is up to snuff.