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Small crowd gets a big treat at Wonder show.


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There are 6,000 people walking around today with bragging rights.

On Friday, they witnessed one of the year's best concerts, Stevie Wonder at Mellon Arena.

For 2½-hours solid, Wonder wowed fans with his voice and showmanship.

Joined by an eight-piece band and three backup singers, including his daughter, Aisha Morris, Wonder whipped through a collection of hits that's vast enough to make virtually any living solo artist envious.

Escorted to his center-stage organ by his daughter, the black-clad Wonder greeted his first Pittsburgh audience in 27 years by telling the story of how in the wake of his mother's death, he had been prepared to set aside music. But then he changed his mind and quickly arranged a tour after hearing his mom's voice whispering in his ear. "Better get your ass back out there."

Mom would have felt proud Friday, even though Wonder seemed to be missing his groove for the show's first 10 minutes. The pace was too slow, and the largely middle-aged crowd was too quiet, until deep into the third song, when Wonder unleashed a fiery political rant that raised questions such as why are lethal handguns so easy to get in a country purporting to destroy "weapons of mass destruction.?" Wonder urged spectators to direct their displeasure with government leaders by repeatedly shouting "Stop it!" That woke up the crowd, which responded enthusiastically. Wonder fed off their energy, tearing into "Living for the City." From then on, he had the audience in his 57-year-old hands.

Reminding everyone that his first wife hailed from Pittsburgh, Wonder lit up "Ribbon in the Sky" by teaching female spectators a sing-along harmony. Once the women got the hang of it, Wonder told the men they needed to "put it down," too, as he coached them through their own, different-sounding sing-along. After a short battle of the sexes to see who was singing better, Wonder got the men and women to simultaneously accompany him with their two separate harmonies. The resulting sound was marvelous; a real goose bump-causing moment.

Wonder and his polished band sailed through hits like "For Once in My Life," "If You Really Love Me," "Higher Ground" and "Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing." He set up "My Cherie Amour," with the story of the young Chicago fan who inspired that song.

Wonder slipped a good deal of humor into his set. He made a few jokes about his blindness, and really brought the house down as he dropped his voice into a southern yokel drawl to sing a few verses of "Signed, Sealed, Delivered." Pleading for a country artist to cover that song - "Ching, ching" a grinning Wonder said, making the noise of a busy cash register - the Michigan native then proved he likes country music by singing Charlie Rich's "Behind Closed Doors."

For the show's final 30 minutes, Wonder was just showing off, challenging his burly bassist to randomly pick the songs that still needed to be played; smash hits like "You Are the Sunshine of My Life," "Sir Duke" and the crowd favorite "Superstition."

Standing next to his organ, Wonder closed the show with one more impassioned plea; urging people to love one another and to use that love to defy and overcome those who have a propensity for hate. Wonder's words were heartfelt and inspiring without being excessively preachy.

Too bad there weren't more people in the Igloo to hear them. I mean, 6,000 people for a Friday night show featuring a musical legend in his first local appearance in decades? C'mon, Western Pennsylvania... you can do better than that.

:link:

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We recruited Stevie Wonder for a Duke Ellington Tribute at UCLA. Not only did he play Sir Duke, afterwards he played a set for less than 20 of us back stage - that was the best show I have ever seen.

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