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The Navigator

An outdoor venue finally bares its soul

By RICK GERSHMAN
Published August 25, 2006

Mary J. Blige. Ford Amphitheatre. Seem like a weird marriage?

Sure, I know the amphitheater has brought in R&B and soul shows before; I just can't remember too many off the top of my head. I can recall a lot of pop shows, and country, and rock and metal and country, and adult alternative and boy bands and country.

Okay, so I do see Earth, Wind and Fire is coming up in a few weeks, with young up-and-comer Chris Brown right on the soul icons' heels. So maybe that's an indication that everyone's favorite kinda-outdoor, kinda-indoor venue is adding a little more groove to its repertoire.

Then again, who else is up in the near future? Toby Keith, Counting Crows, Styx, Foreigner, Hootie and the Blowfish.

Granted, I happen to know that my colleague Ernest Hooper digs Hootie and the Blowfish. But, hey, he's a wuss.

Regardless, Blige is coming out, and it should be a hot show.

Sure, she's the grandmother of the R&B/hip-hop/soul combination, but, come to think of it, she's younger than I am.

And she's coming off one of her best albums since her breakthrough debut Where's the 411?. Which is 2005's, um, The Breakthrough.

That disc includes a remarkable duet with U2. But the disc also is filled with Blige's amazing voice, typically star-studded production and a new batch of killer ballads and party jams, many written or co-written by Blige herself. Enough Cryin has taken up residence in my head so long I'm considering charging it rent.

Expect a healthy selection from across Blige's repertoire. I dare anyone under the age of 150 not to nod your head or wiggle your butt at least a little to Family Affair.

As allmusic.com critic Alex Henderson notes in his review of Blige's 1998 live album, The Tour, "the very fact that a live urban contemporary album came out in the late 1990s was quite surprising; after all, R&B had become so technology-driven and studio-oriented that few R&B artists even bothered to make live albums anymore."

But then, few modern R&B artists have Blige's chops. A listen to The Tour reveals that her voice is in fine form on hits such as Real Love and Reminisce. Even the ballads are infused with the energy of a rock show.

Is that enough to power the groove all the way back to the amphitheater's lawn? I'm thinking yes.

And, Hoop, I'll keep your Hootie tickets handy. That's all I'm - well, you know.

Rick Gershman can be reached at rgershman@sptimes.com or 226-3431. His Times blog, the Ill Literate, is at www.sptimes.com/blogs/tampaarts.

IF YOU GO

Mary J. Blige performs with Jaheim starting at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Ford Amphitheatre. Tickets are $35.50-$65.50. Call 740-2446.

[Last modified August 23, 2006, 11:41:37]