Gig review: Stevie Wonder in Auckland

Iconic musician Stevie Wonder performed a powerful, uplifting and life-affirming set at Vector Arena in Auckland. Reviewer Jeff Neems was there.

Stevie Wonder
Where: Vector Arena, Auckland
When: October 30
 
When you have so many hits, it can be hard to cram them all into one show.

But  American soul, funk and R'n'B legend Stevie Wonder did his level best to do that last night at Vector Arena, filling a set which stretched beyond two-and-a-half hours with some of the most iconic and touching tunes of career - and of modern music.

This is a man, after all, with a career  which has spanned five decades, and shows no sign of slowing down. He's clocked up album sales of more than 150 million, and won a record 26 Grammy Awards, more than any other solo artist.

Solo in name, but not in reality. Last night the 58-year-old was backed by an extensive 10-piece band which, by my reckoning, missed one note all night but never lost time, and like their leader, just seemed pleased to be there.

Their smiles were as wide as those of punters who'd waited two decades for Wonder to return to New Zealand.

Uptempo funk classics Higher Ground and Superstition - the big show-closer - drew the two biggest responses of the night, bringing the entire crowd to its feet.

A collage of Papa Was a Rolling Stone, Billie Jean and Heard it Through The Grapevine saw him pay tribute to The Undisputed Truth, Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye, proving he wasn't above wheeling out big cover versions.

He even opened the show with a gentle harmonica-powered version of Miles Davis' A Kind of Blue.

But there were slower, more reflective moments as well, when the crowd relaxed back in their seats to soak up that voice.

The beautiful Sunshine Of My Life would have had many couples clinging to each other; it's a gorgeous, sensitive tune, and last night it was given a step up in tempo.

It would've been nice to hear it in its entirety, rather than bundled into a medley of hits near the end of the show, but that's a very minor gripe.

Thankfully, he largely stayed away from the disappointingly sappy 2005 effort A Time To Love, preferring instead to give us what we all came for - the big tunes which have punctuated his career.

While he called for crowd participation in some of the singalongs (notably My Cherie Amour), Wonder never left the crowd to its own devices, and avoided a night of glorified karaoke as has been the case with some of his contemporaries.

Wonder considers himself to have been gifted by God, and there was a sense throughout the show that he is doing the Lord's work.

There was also a political message, with Wonder heading straight back to the US to play - and undoubtedly vote for - Barack Obama, whose presidential candidacy he referenced several times during the set.

Latin flavours spiced up several tunes, notably Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing, while elsewhere he would bring the groove right down with some jazzy noodling.

For the last 40 minutes of the show, Wonder kept telling us he and his band didn't want to go, and we didn't want him to either.

It was powerful, uplifting, life-affirming and celebratory stuff, and for the thousands who paid handsomely for tickets, it was well worth it.

No doubt, this was one of the highlights of the concert year.

* Were you at the show? Post your comments below.

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