You know, there’s something magical about seeing an artist’s growth. Remembering them at the beginning of their career and fast forwarding to the present. All those memories came back while taking in the performances from R&B soul singers Joe, Anthony Hamilton, and Maxwell during their sets on Saturday night on The NIGHT Tour in Washington DC at Capital One Arena.
The energy in the arena was amazing, it was reminiscent of concerts pre-pandemic. Couples were dancing, the venue staff were friendly, and I caught a few of them singing and dancing and engaging with the audience. It was truly a gorgeous moment.
The NIGHT Tour started things off with Joe, who is most known for his ballads and vocals on some classic hip-hop songs. He opened his set with ‘Big Rich Town’, the theme song from the cable series “Power.” Which the audience responded as if it was a full length hit song –well, okay, it is kind of. Joe arranged a nice amount of his popular songs in his short but sweet set.
Kicking it up a notch was the sweet southern soul sounds of Anthony Hamilton, the singer-songwriter is known for his smooth vocal transitions from baritone to a falsetto didn’t fail to deliver. Hamilton’s set felt like a family reunion—he has a way of making you feel like one of his cousins. Between shouting out a few people, he mostly thanked the audience for years of support.
At this point, the adrenaline and anticipation for Maxwell was high. When the clock struck 9:00 it was time. Curtains dropped; an eclipsed sun appeared on the screen at the back of the stage while smoke billowed out onto the stage while the band played the instrumental jam “Phoenix Rising” from the 2009 album BLACKsummers’night.
While donning black suit with mirror-like pieces, the most noticeable thing was the return of his signature afro which he had when he started his career in 1996, it felt like a slight nod to coming full circle in his 26-year music career.
It took him no time to get right to his hits, staring with “Sumthin’, Sumthin’”, “Dancewitme” and “Lifetime.” The one thing for me that I notice that was missing were songs from his sophomore album “Embrya.”, It would’ve been nice to hear some of those songs. But the one thing about a Maxwell show is that he will give you a show. He danced and dropped it low across the stage.
At one point during the show, he gave thanks to Marvin Gaye—it was Gaye’s birthday on the night of the show. And to his tour mates, Hamilton, and Joe before getting emotional about the toll of the pandemic, voters rights and the support from fans.
Maxwell who is of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent performed a Reggae/Caribbean version of “Lake by the Ocean,” while whipping the crowd into a frenzy with his smile and sultry dance moves. By the time he performed his hit song “Ascension,” Maxwell paused to listen to an arena of 12,000+ people sing his song in unison. What a night!
The NIGHT Tour
PR INTRO
PHOENIX RISING
SUMTHIN
DANCEWITME
LIFETIME
FORTUNATE
BAD HABITS
STOP THE WORLD
ALWAYS AND FOREVER
OFF
PRETTY WINGS
SUITE THEME
FISTFUL OF TEARS
LAKE BY THE OCEAN
GET TO KNOW YA
ASCENSION
WHENEVER
Words & Photos by: Sneakshot Photography/Victoria Ford