Chris Brown: Not yet "Prince of R&B"
After two albums, the story of Chris Brown is one of potential greatness yet to be realized.
The 18-year-old's dance moves are lights-out spectacular, but his job title is R&B singer.
Brown possesses a high tenor of limited character, but it's proved serviceable on dance hits such as "Run It" and on current ballad "With You."
More than anything, the Virginia native has been slow to accumulate first-rate songs, and production flaws of the tour Brown brought to Conseco Fieldhouse on Friday night won't accelerate his climb to superstardom.
The major problems were gaps of time when Brown wasn't onstage and the lip-synching that occurred when he was present.
When choosing among breathtaking moves, costume changes and legitimate singing, Brown always seems to select dancing and wardrobe.
Elsewhere, stacked squares of the stage design suggested a tribute to Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock," but nothing more than video representations of musicians filled the squares. A drummer was the only live accompaniment to recorded tracks.
Green lasers fanning above the audience resurrected a still-cool piece of yesteryear's technology. The concert's stab at cutting-edge technology, projecting video appearances by Lil' Wayne and Rihanna on a scrim at the front of the stage, was difficult to see for anyone with tickets not on the floor.
Brown arrived onstage by descending on wires attached to a commando outfit connected to the plot of a short animated film that presented the singer as a superhero.
It was a tipoff to the evening's theme of fakery.
Two preteens in Brown's entourage provided exhilarating blasts of reality.
Scooter, 11, and Myles, 9, are both dancers -- and Scooter is a fierce rapper, too.
Brown, of course, is still young enough to deliver on the promise of his gifts. From this edition of his "Up Close and Personal" tour, encouraging signs were seen in a sexually charged rendition of "Take You Down" (performed on a tilted, rotating stage at the back of the arena) and a basic, heartfelt version of "With You."
Before Brown's performance, Bow Wow made progress as he makes the transition from kid rapper to adult artist.
The 20-year-old found purpose in romantic rhymes, as heard during "I'm a Flirt," "Like You" and "Girlfriend."
With females making up likely 80 percent of the audience of 8,000, Bow Wow seized an opportunity to deliver focused yet vulnerable phrasing reminiscent of LL Cool J.
This influence extended to recent single "Hey Baby (Jump Off)," which borrows its authoritative bounce from LL's "Going Back to Cali."
Opening acts Soulja Boy and the Shop Boyz delivered 30 minutes of vigorous, uncomplicated fun. Thanks to Soulja Boy's "Crank That" and "Party Like a Rock Star" from the Shop Boyz, the room was more than warmed up for the main attractions.
I think you should've mentioned Bow Wow's heartfelt dedication of his show to the young mothers and children of the Hovey Street murders. Overall the concert was enjoyable-as Chris did have gaps in between his costume changes-the DJ kept the crowd moving and entertained!
David Lindquist : RE: Chris Brown: Not yet "Prince of R&B" More..
Lola: You're right about Bow Wow's tribute to the Hovey Street victims. That was a sincere and uplifting gesture.
tempvon@sbcglobal.net : RE: Chris Brown: Not yet "Prince of R&B" More..
I totally disagree with the critique. I found the concert to be very refreshing and energetic and this is from a parent's point of view. It was the liveliest concert crowd I've ever seen in my 12 years in Indy. I was really impressed with the showmanship of the artist as well as Bow Wow's and Chris Brown's stage setup and special effects. True the artists did perform to tracks but I haven't been to major concert in a large venue in years that was totally live. This includes established artist like John Mayer and Chaka Kahn. These guys are young and they all tried to have something for everyone including parents. This article didn't give any credit for the energy put out by the artists and crowd for a three hour concert. These artists were so much better performers than the rappers I saw as a teenager. All they did was pimp walked across the stage, rapped to some tracks, threw the mic down and stomped of the stage.
I know their were a lot of parents concerned about the vulgarity level of the concert. I would rate it similar to a PG-13 movie. There were a few dance moves that tipped the scale but for the most part it was good clean teenager young adult fun and also okay for smaller kids depending on their level of maturity. Again much props to Bow Wow for your level of consciousness.
dave -you are a good writer but I think your review of the show is based on the fact that you are not part of the r/b culture. Chris brown is the future, and urban as well as mainstream audiences love this kid. I was fortunate enough to see him perform at the MTV awards 2007 in person ,and all the music celebrities like diddy,alicia keys and 50 were screaming for this kid. Also here are some facts :
"Kiss kiss" and "run it" spent alot of time on both r/b and pop charts
Ford Motors sponsors his tour (what other kid do you know with that kinda support ?)
He is also an actor
So far a good role model
His target audience loved the show
You missed the boat on this review dude....sorry
stanley_paine : RE: Chris Brown: Not yet "Prince of R&B" More..
Indy.com gets three photos? The Star has a gallery with 19 ... why aren't they here?
dirtydan75 : RE: Chris Brown: Not yet "Prince of R&B" More..
i am a fan of bow wow to.i love this artist.but i strongly think chris brown and souljah boy.will be like other artist here today gone tomorrow. i didnt attend this concert.but saw bow wow with btk at conseco a couple of years back.maby if this show returns to verizon i will go.a bow wow fan till the end.if anyone recorded this concert.please place your clips on youtube or email me privately at dansdiary75@yahoo.com if you have the complete show for trade or sale. thank you and have a blessed day love dirtydan75
The photo gallery is now on indy.com as well. Just click on the photo or "Up Close and Personal Tour gallery" link under "Multimedia." Sorry about that!
well chris brown is grown nd he can do wat he pleases nd to my knowledge soulja boy performed secon which he also did sexual movement not that i didnt lik any of it cause i loved the WHOLE CONCERT ESPECIALLY CHRIS BROWN "TAKE YOU DOWN" nd he only lip song ONE song
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