Steve Wonder - Can We Fix Our Nation's Broken Heart
“Are you all good?” Stevie Wonder asked. It was a refrain he’d echo through the evening.
Wonder’s short tour with the long name, “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart,” filled Fiserv Forum last Thursday night with a message of hope for the future.
Opening with the song that serves as the tour’s namesake, he played to a multi-ethnic, multi-generational crowd that packed the barn to the rafters. The Motown legend drew from a career of songs that have long been part of the fabric reflecting cultural change.
During the two-set concert Wonder moved through time with early hits “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours” and “My Cherie Amour.” “For Once in My Life,” punctuated by backing vocals and topped by Wonder’s masterful harmonic solo was introduced with a story of the teenage Wonder’s run-in with Tony Bennett (the singer who made the song famous) in the recording studio—“Stevie, what the hell are you doing to my song?”
Family affair
Wonder’s children and grandchildren played a part in the evening, escorting him to the stage, singing as backing vocalists and even getting awakened to return to the stage to be serenaded with “Isn’t She Lovely?”
Seated front and center behind a grand piano and other keyboards, Wonder was flanked by a battalion of conspirators: a conductor directing a string section; a five-piece horn section; a half dozen backing vocalists; a trio of drummer-percussionists; a pair of guitarists and bassist Nathan Watts would lead the band for “Contusion,” reprising his part from the album Songs In The Key Of Life.
Early in the show Wonder delivered “Master Blaster” and “Higher Ground,” a pair of tunes that had folks moving, grooving and dancing in the aisles. The blast of funk made it easy to imagine a full dance floor, had it not been filled with seats.
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You don’t get to be 74-years-old in the fickle world of pop music without learning how to read the room. Wonder delivered Hallmark hits like “I Just Called to Say I Love You” and the haunting “As,” songs that remain relevant and had fans swaying at the back of the bowl.
Maybe what was most impressive was how personal this show felt. It didn’t seem like an arena show. It was organic, with storytelling, humor and a bit of grit. It’s long been obvious that while Steve Wonder is a pro, his humanity always takes the spotlight.
After a break that gave the spotlight to vocalist-pianist Sheléa for a short set, Wonder returned to the stage. His 12 song second set could have been a concert in itself.
“Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing,” a duet with Sheléa continued the intensity; he also delivered “Village Ghetto Land,” “Living for the City” and the hi-octane tribute to Duke Ellington, “Sir Duke.”
“I Wish” ended with the horns blasting joyously, the Clavinet clarion call of “Superstition” and “Do I Do” kept the room’s pulse rate high and longing for a dance floor.
