John Legend at Northrop Auditorium

Photo by Sergei

The Beans were very fortunate to see Raphael Saadiq open for John Legend on November 19 at Northrop Auditorium. While we only had started listening to Raphael Saadiq just days prior to the engagement, we were incredibly excited to see him in concert. An accomplished producer and singer, Saadiq was once the front man for the 90's band, Tony! Toni! Tone! Now, he is singing soul music sounding as though it came out of Motown in the 60's.

Out to promote his new album, The Way I See It, Saadiq took the stage accompanied by a pair of back-up singers and a full band. Unfortunately, the audience surrounding us wasn't as interested as we were, so the set wasn't as enjoyable as it should have been. However, we did enjoy hearing his single "Love That Girl" and another favorite, the groovy "100 Yard Dash." The whole 30 minute set was absolutely fantastic, minus the aforementioned concert-goers. The man is a genius.

After a long break, John Legend burst on stage for his first stop on the Evolver tour. Opening with "Used to Love You," the crowd went wild. Seriously. Dressed in leather pants and jacket with black, fingerless gloves, Legend commanded the stage.

After playing "Satisfaction" and "It's Over" from the newest album, Legend played hits from his past studio alubms, Get Lifted and Once Again. Legend sat at the piano for five songs including "Stereo," "Quickly," and "Save Room."

One lucky fan was pulled on stage to slow dance with Legend to the song of the same name. Before leaving for his costume change, we heard one of our favorites, "PDA."

Throughout the show, the fans in the bottom level never left their feet. I have never been to a show in a theater venue where their was so much excitement and dancing. There was, however, one point during the show where The Beans did get a little nervous: during "Green Light" all of the dancing fans on the balcony was causing the hanging structure to bounce along to the music as well. Thankfully, Legend slowed it down with a solo version of "Ordinary People" at the piano.

While at the keys, Legend spoke about his year-old charity, The Show Me Campaign, which was started after a trip to Ghana.

The show closed with "If You're Out There,"which was inspired by President-Elect Barack Obama's campaign and which was performed at the DNC earlier this year. As Legend belted out the lyrics, the screen behind him showed images of revolutionaries, agents of change, and peace-makers such as Abraham Lincoln, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, John Lennon, Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, and finally, Barack Obama.