JOHANNESBURG: It is my observation that events have become underwhelming, perhaps they suffer from post global pandemic effects, and perhaps that’s why when I saw the supporting acts for this concert, I thought “oh no, not another boys club to build up to the night’s biggest act”… But I quickly swallowed my words when the owners of the country’s Sunday soul sessions started to play.
I was pleasantly surprised by Up Close and Personal. If you have ever been to the Arena, then you will be familiar with the multi-level set- up of the venue and the ambience of the space. This venue offers glimmers of a top-notch casino life, lights, and aesthetically pleasing décor.
That’s venue all right, now let’s see what the food set up is. What do people prefer to nibble on, especially when they came prepared to sing along to their childhood favourites, tunes that remind them of spring-cleaning eras in the house, which conjures up memories of carefully dusting their mother’s wooden room divider and applying cobra polish to the floor? Light meals seemed to be the best option, they had local vendors offering a variety of foods from the much-loved samosas and chicken wings.
There were vendors with all sorts of treats including popcorn machines, sweets, and soft drinks. There were more stalls tilted “Bar” than I could count, which made it so much easier for people to go purchase their preferred poison for the night and quickly come back to enjoy the rest of the show.
Concerts are also usually chaotic, and I think this was a clever strategy to control traffic and have a flowing night, so was having the ushers in neon orange tops. Even during performances when the lights were dimmed, you could quickly spot an usher to assist you with whatever question you had. These ushers were friendly and helpful, which I must say is the general behaviour of Pretorians, that and a sense of style. I could tell by the language they spoke that I would receive friendly service and with a media pass, I sure had a lot to ask and got assisted each time.
The concert promised to be an intimate night of RnB jams, it was not a surprise that couples filled the venue to celebrate love, to sing along and to each other. Echoing lyrics from All My Tomorrows and If You Could See you to one another was beautiful to witness. The cherry on top was Lattimore giving his back up singers the platform to sing along him in duets such as When I said I do , which was my favourite performance. Maybe that was because the track was the first dance track for both my siblings’ weddings, it made me sing along at the top my lungs, reminiscing on those moments.
I had a special appreciation for Lattimore’s wardrobe and choreography. He was in a fitted black tux, white shirt, and black shoes. His moves left my jaw on the floor and thinking to myself, if this man told the telling the truth about his age. He still has it, the voice, the charm, and the moves. If I was not sure why women fell for him, I mean I was 4-years-old when he released his debut album in 1996, I now understand.
I took time to listen to his latest offering titled Here to stay on my way to the concert, and that was the only disappointment from my observation. I am sure music evolves with time, but I just feel that autotune is taking away the crisp tone that we love and appreciate from Lattimore’s repertoire.
Overall, this concert was like a proper wedding in a typical black South African middle-class home, and in true form, the audience closed off the night with the Codesa dance to back up my theory. Just a perfect evening with beautiful people who came to see and conquer.
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