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Home > Atlanta Music Scene > Archives > 2008 > November > 06 > Entry
Usher’s ‘Ladies Only’ Tour - The First Reviews
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
![usher-TREE-600[3].jpg](http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/MusicScene/upload/2008/11/usher-TREE-600%5B3%5D.jpg)
Atlanta R&B superstar Usher launched his “Ladies Only” tour Sunday in Atlantic City, and finally the critic’s takes are starting to trickle in.
Here’s what’s been written about the show that stops here Nov. 10 at the Tabernacle Nov. 10:
From The New York Post’s Dan Aquilante —
BOUDOIR balladeer Usher flashed a smile at his female fans and then set up the ground rules of his Monday concert at Hammerstein Ballroom. “Ladies, I brought you here for one reason … a one-night stand,” the singer oozed, adding the Vegas touch with, “And what happens here, stays here.”
The women in the front rows needed no encouragement to ditch their underwear and lob them at the singer.
It was a predominantly female crowd at a show where the ticket clearly stated “Ladies Only” - and Usher was ready for their love.
Songs like the hard-driving R&B tune “Love in the Club,” the funk anthem “This Ain’t Sex” and the ultra-erotic smooth groove of “Trading Places” turned the women into girls gone wild. How wild?
While the singer stood at the lip of the stage, hands reached up to touch his foot, his calf, his knee and then headed north up his pants. Even Usher - who is the contemporary equivalent of sexual singers such as Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye and Barry White - was a little shocked.
As he sang “Seduction,” he directed the lyric “Stop playing with me” at the girls stage left who were treating his trousers like a private petting zoo. For all the sexual suggestion at this show, the guy didn’t neglect his singing duties.
He has a singular tenor that commands the high notes and low, and he gets real emotion into his songs. Usher’s the total ladies’ man, but he was even able to make you believe he was repentant about his cheating ways during the song “Confessions.”
In the two-hour show, Usher demonstrated incredible stage charisma and showed off one of the best voices in R&B. And add to his can-do list: He’s a terrific dancer.
Unlike the boy-toy hoofers who surround pop singers like Madonna, there is a masculine power to Usher’s angular movement that reminds you of a “Singin’ in the Rain”-era Gene Kelly. Usher won’t mind that being repeated, but about the pant petting, remember that what happened at this show stays at this show.
Meanwhile Jim Farber at the Daily News wrote —
JUST AS WISE politicians must play to their party’s base at times, so singer Usher took his message to his core constituency last night - screaming, drooling women.
The R&B star played a “Ladies Only” show at Hammerstein Ballroom, one of 14 such events across the country. Happily, yours truly wasn’t forced to undergo a sex reassignment operation in order to attend. The “Ladies” advertisement turned out to be more suggestion than law. Roughly 20% of the crowd could claim both an X and a Y chromosome, which turned out to be a good thing. At this point, Usher needs every gender he can get. The 4,000-seat hall wasn’t sold out, a shocking occurrence for a star who just three years ago sold 9 million copies of his “Confessions” CD.
Then again, Usher’s followup, “Here I Am,” has sold one-ninth that amount, which helps explain his decision to shore up the base. He pushed the “ladies” agenda hard at Hammerstein, never once acknowledging the men. He not only sweet-talked the women but doffed his shirt twice to reveal his famous six-pack. He also humped the stage, threw out several sweaty tissues and accepted two pairs of pink panties in return.
Oh, yes, he also sang - and often well. Usher owns a creamy tone and an agile range. Unfortunately, his latest material isn’t his most spry, which explains part of his whittled-down crowd. Another factor comes from a switch in his lyrical persona - from Lothario to loyal husband and father. To counter that staid role, Usher redirected the songs to his audience, feigning the old availability. At times it rang true, as in the randy “Trading Places.” But he indulged many unsalvageable songs, and took them at too leisurely a pace, turning what might have been a night of winking eros into a performance that too often went flaccid.
Been to his first shows or know anybody that has? Planning to see him in Connecticut tomorrow?
Comments
By Michelle
November 7, 2008 10:17 AM | Link to this
Wish I could go!… Good Luck to those who get the chance…