Stevie Wonder Show Review: Summerfest 6-28-09

Stevie's Set:

Part 1: http://www.zshare.net/download/62052055888aaa64
Part 2: http://www.zshare.net/download/620516759df4dc2c/


Every now and then a concert is a bigger than just music...the Stevie Wonder/John Legend concert at Summerfest this past Sunday was one of those times.

Sunday's show was Wonder's second since the passing of his good friend Michael Jackson (Stevie was labelmates with the Jackson 5 when they first arrived on Motown in 1969.), and the pain clearly showed in his facial expressions throughout the performance.

He cried several times during the show, including a complete breakdown when "The Way You Make Me Feel" was played over the sound system during one interlude. His daughter Aisha Morris had to come console him on stage, and he nearly missed his cue for his next song.

The set list was virtually the same as last year's performance, with the exception of the Michael Jackson tributes. During the show he sang "I Can't Help It" with John Legend and another MJ tribute song that was unfinished.

Stevie decided to play a medley of MJ songs over the sound system instead of his usual encore at the end of the show, and the show ended on a positive note when he tried to moonwalk to one of the songs.

The effects of the economy were visibly apparent as well. While last year's show was virtually sold out, this year's show saw entire sections empty with the Marcus Ampitheater at about half-capacity.

John Legend joined Stevie on stage for several songs during his set (the only scheduled show with both artists all summer), but I missed his set because his forehead is big and he talks about cheating too much (jokes).