In the heart of Universal City, CA stands a building that if its walls could talk, it would tell tall tales of celebrity grandeur. Those walls would boast about the legends that have graced the stage within its domain. The Gibson Amphitheatre has housed the comedic genius of Eddie Murphy, the musical talents of everyone from Frank Sinatra to Mary J. Blige, and a host of award shows. On a warm May night with thousands of Universal Studio’s patrons bustling about, the legacy of the Gibson would never be the same.
Rocking everything from alligator shoes, form fitting dresses, to the latest hip-hop apparel, the almost cult-like following of R&B’s Pied Piper was funky fresh dressed to impress and ready to “Light it Up” with R Kelly at the Gibson Amphitheatre. With no opening act in sight or announced, the house lights fell, the screams of anxious women, young and old, filled the acoustically sound walls of the theater. Almost as if he were ascending from the heavens, Kells appeared at the stop of a staircase and stood as if he was a prophet ready to lead his people to salvation.
Leading the people is exactly what he did, maybe not into salvation, but into frenzy as he began to blurt out quit hits of some of his verses from his collection of collaboration work. Already captivated by his mere presence, the ladies lost their minds after the R&B thug spoke the words, “I cannot continue to do this show not unless I feel some real love from the crowd… I need everybody to come to the front of the stage so I can feel yall. Fuck them tickets, lets do this thing right!” Before he could even finish what he was saying, lil mamas and grand mamas alike rushed the stage like a swarm of bees to honey.
From that point on, “Mr. Honey Love” himself, had the crowd at his beaconing call proving that he is R&B’s true Pied Piper.
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As the show progressed, so did R Kelly’s performance. His enthusiasm, creativity, and freakiness seemed mimic the rising blood pressures and excitement of his audience. After a few wardrobe changes, a thoughtful “I Wish” performance dedicated to the Hurricane Katrina victims, a few moments of grindin’ with some lucky ladies in the audience, and a few moments of some spontaneous freestyle verses about the suits backstage telling him to keep it PG-13, I began to realize the tremendous impact this man has had on music. Not only were the females in total awe of superstar, the men in the audience were showing Kells crazy love. It was never more apparent than when he began to sing accapella versions of some of his biggest hits. As he sang, “My minds telling me no,” the crowd would finish with, “but my bodies telling me yes.” At one point he never had to sing a word because the crowd came together in choir like fashion to harmonize the lyrics to everything from old school classic like “Slow Dance” to the “toot toot, beep beep” of “Ignition.”
Igniting the crowd is absolutely one of R Kelly’s greatest gifts. With everything from opera renditions of “Feelin’ On Yo Booty”, one man theatrical performances of “Trapped In The Closet”, to Chicago stepper set versions of “Step In The Name of Love,” R Kelly proved that he is in fact “Mr. Showbiz.” Large enough to feel grand yet small enough to feel intimate, the Gibson Amphitheatre served as the perfect venue for “Mr. Showbiz” to flex his skills in a showbiz town. From beginning to end, the aisles were filled, the crowd was rockin’, and the modern day Stevie Wonder showed his depth as an artist. Whether they were old, young, Black, Chinese, or blind, R Kelly ended his show accordingly by leaving the Gibson Amphitheatre full of “Happy People.”
