Mary J. Blige

Attending a Mary J. Blige concert for me is like going to church. There’s going to be a lot of praising, amen's and hallelujahs. This is just the way it is when Mary is in town. My usual experience at her shows is spiritual, reflective and cathartic. Sometimes I might even catch the “Holy Ghost.” It also always leaves me drained with a hoarse voice the following day. Because I have such high expectations when it comes to Mary and the fact that this was called “The Liberation Tour,” I was a bit surprised that the show ended and didn’t feel as I had previously. Sure, the concert was good, but it wasn’t great. Don’t get me wrong, she still gave a performance I’ll remember. She preached to the choir and we hung onto every word, shouting back when necessary (and taking notes as well). Mary still looks fabulous (who is her trainer and can he/she hook me up?), but her voice wasn’t as pure and crisp as it has been in previous shows. There was something lacking that I can’t quite put my finger on. It seemed like Mary wasn’t at the top of her game. Perhaps she was tired or just having an off night. A friend who attended with me said it might be because Mary has had so much turmoil this year. I wasn’t quite sure what turmoil she was referring to – outside of Mary having issues with her charity FFAWN – so I did some research and didn’t find much that would explain Mary’s demeanor. Changing twice (into a black dress and white outfit with thigh-high leopard print boots), she started the show rocking a red shorts outfit and her trademark sunglasses. The set opened with her version of Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody. Keeping the high-energy pace going, next was Family Affair, followed by Feel Inside and Enough Cryin’. She asked the audience if she could get her “Charlie Wilson on” during Real Love (which led into the Gap Band’s Outstanding). Before launching into Good Woman Down she expressed to the men that, “Fellas, I am a woman and I relate to them, so no disrespect.” At the end of Not Gonna Cry Mary had her own Holy Ghost moment singing repeatedly, “He wasn’t worth it!” I usually take a break during I’m Going Down because the audience has sung this song at every single Mary show I’ve been too. And that’s fine, because I’ve been singing along to all the songs anyway, and I need a moment to collect myself before I go HAM again. I had just one issue, though. Not only did the audience sing I’m Going Down, we also sang portions of My Life and Be Without You. I found this unusual because Mary generally sings all songs. Ending with Be Without You there was no encore. When the house lights turned on, I was a bit perplexed. The show just didn’t seem long enough. And once I realized she only sang one song from Growing Pains (Just Fine), I was even more disappointed.