Maxwell Delivers Steamy Boston Performance
Clad in a supremely fitted navy suit with a matching shirt, glinting tie bar, and pocket square, Maxwell’s flawless style matched his impeccable falsetto during Saturday night’s show at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion.
The R&B crooner managed to pack 13 songs into a stop of the Summer Soulstice tour that lasted just over 90 minutes, delivering a scream-inducing — albeit sweaty — performance for a packed house.
Before Maxwell even stepped foot on stage, a dubstep-ified version of “Ain’t No Sunshine’’ kicked in at 8:28 (similar to this one) and had the crowd primed and on its feet for his entrance a minute later.
When Maxwell sauntered toward the mike from a fog-filled rear stage and started things off with his 1996 track, “Sumthin Sumthin’’ grown women screamed like teenage girls at a One Direction show.
The screaming rolled on, exacerbated by Maxwell rolling his hips or stuffing a pair of ladies panties (which were thrown in the stage) in his mouth. Yes, the crowd went absolutely wild.
In between the screams, Maxwell praised the audience which he said was the reason he succeeded in his career.
“Thank you for making my lifetime such a great lifetime,’’ Maxwell told the crowd between renditions of “Cold’’ and “Lifetime,’’ the fourth and fifth songs of the night.
The remaining song choices turned into a sing-along, including tracks like his most recent smash “Pretty Wings’’ (2009) and a fan-favorite cover of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work’’ (appeared on his 2001 album, “Now’’) helped fill out the 12-song set and two-song encore.
There weren’t any traces of new music from the Brooklyn native during the performance, something that was expected since Maxwell’s most recent album, the 2009 Grammy-winning “BLACKsummers’night,’’ celebrated five years on record store shelves last week.
Hopefully fans won’t have to wait too long for fresh tunes. Maxwell recently promised the Los Angeles Times that the second of two planned follow-ups to’’BLACKsummers’night’’ will be out by the end of the year.
Maxwell wraps up the 40-date tour in Albuquerque, N.M. on Aug. 17.
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