If Ginuwine fans didn’t leave with a souvenir after his concert Thursday night, they weren’t trying very hard. Throughout his hourlong co-headlining show with Tyrese at the Miller High Life Theatre, the R&B singer lobbed fresh white T-shirts to the adoring fans clustered around the stage, each of which he gently dabbed on his face—or sometimes flossed between his legs—before flipping into the crowd. He also tossed roses from a generous bouquet and, during one particularly dramatic moment, sang a song about the sweaty bath towel one lucky fan was about to catch. I’ve seen “Price is Right” contestants less excited to compete for a car than some of Ginuwine’s fans were about that towel.
If Ginuwine’s performance wasn’t quite “The Greatest Show On Earth,” as the screens on either side of the stage boasted, it was a trim, exceptionally polished display from a singer who’s clearly learned to work a crowd over his many years on the road. It all sounded great, too, thanks to a five-piece band eager to extend each song into sinewy, sensuous jams, as well as a pair of backing vocalists who captured the sumptuous low end of Ginuwine’s impeccable studio recordings. The one-two punch of Ginuwine’s biggest hits—the achingly perfect “Differences” and his party staple “Pony,” its enormous bass still striking as ever even after two decades—ended his set on a note of sheer euphoria.
Tyrese got the night’s headlining honors, which rankles the music geek in me. Where Ginuwine’s best singles are inventive and timeless, Tyrese’s are merely fine. They reliably hit the spot, but never strive for transcendence the way R&B’s real greats do. Yet fame isn’t just about studio accomplishments. Ginuwine may have the stronger voice and the bigger songs, but Tyrese has the better smile. It also doesn’t hurt that he’s a fixture of one of the world’s most successful movie franchises, Fast & Furious, where he’s gamely provided comic relief for five movies and counting.
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And so for an hour, Tyrese coasted on his considerable charisma, serenading the women who crowded the stage in even greater numbers than they did for Ginuwine, sharing his thoughts on romance, marriage and, during “Signs of Love Makin’,” Greek astronomy. He didn’t do sexually charged push-ups like Ginuwine did, but he did toss out twice as many roses, and he flattered the audience constantly, wondering out loud why it took him so long to return to Milwaukee. He may not be one of the greats, but he’s a charmer.
