Forget the Chocolates, The “Rebirth of Marvin” Tour was the ONLY Valentine’s Day Gift You Needed!
Valentine’s Day is the one day out of the year where people chose to spotlight their love, regardless of what it might before. A love of self, another person, music or whatever else has you. THIS past VDay in Baltimore was the perfect opportunity to get a two-for-one deal by taking your significant other out to see the “Rebirth of Marvin” Tour. This wasn’t just a concert based in mindless music nonsense, it was a show that was shrouded in the theme of L-O-V-E.
Upon walking into Rams Head Live, I saw the sign “sold out” on the venue door and was greeted by a long line of eager fans waiting to get in. Surprised by how quickly and efficiently we made it to the main room of the venue, the mood was already being set by the sounds of DJ TRUUEE! It was like a family reunion on the inside with a multi-generational crowd drinking, dancing and just having a good time. This was one of the first concerts I’ve been to with such a diverse age group. If you looked in one corner you would see folks from Gen Z turning up, but then look to the opposite side of the room and notice the aunties and grandmas of the Baby Boomer generation patiently waiting for the show to start.
First up on the bill was a group that’s not exactly brand new to the scene, but has recently been making some musical waves. Since their first foray into music back in 2017, The Shindellas, comprised of Kasi Jones, Stacy Johnson, and Tamara Chauniece, made it their mission to bring back the feeling of the first era of the Girl Group. Tapping into retro sounds of R&B/Soul influences, the ladies bring forth a sound they dubbed as ‘New American Soul’. After the first 5 minutes of their 20 minute set, it played in my mind that they absolutely gave me feels of a young Supremes, in the sense of having the elements that made the iconic group the full package…glamour, beauty and harmonic vocals.
Although the group has released two full album projects, “Hits That Stick Like Grits” and “Shindo“, their entire set was filled with singles from the latter. “Ooh La La” and “Think of Me” were both strong offerings that showcased the three part harmony that they had down pat and has been missed in the music industry over the last few years. For their last number, they performed the song that many of us are familiar with because it’s been getting constant rotation on Adult R&B radio, peaking at #10. “Last Night Was Good For My Soul” is just one of those feel good records that literally makes your soul feel happy, and The Shindellas further enforced that moment when they gave us a little “step” to go along with the song. Granted that was the last of their set, it wouldn’t be the last time that we would see them, as they also served as the background vocalists for October London!
J. Brown was the next artist to hit the stage. Hailing from Detroit, the place that birthed Motown Records, his addition to the lineup of this tour was pretty much meant to be. Even though all the stars were aligned for him to be a part of the tour were in place, it was still left up to him to prove his place…and I’ll say that he showed up and showed out.
Despite his first song having a few minor technical difficulties, Brown remained the consummate professional and made light of the situation, but at the same time using the slight irritation of it to be the catalyst of his energetic stage performance. A performance that embodied all of what a contemporary male R&B star should be.
It’s a breath of fresh air to able to hear an artist who can actually sing without any autotune or digital tricks to make them sound good. He gave a good variation of original material “Vibe” and “Beautiful” but also paid homage to those who came before him, and obviously inspired him while performing New Edition’s “Can You Stand The Rain” and Bobby Brown’s “Rock Wit’cha.” In the fashion of those two aforementioned artists, he even brought a special lady on stage for a personal serenade, and then jumped down in the audience to get felt up on by the women in the front row.
Obviously he would chose to use his hit single “My Whole Heart” to close out his set to make way for the headliner of the night.
After a brief intermission, out walked October London smoking a cigar and wasted no time in letting the ladies to know that not only was he there for them, but he knew they were there for him in return by opening up with “Sensual Conversations,” where he asked “are you ready baby?! The constant theme throughout was love, but not just your regular love…the more lustful type of love. The lust wasn’t just spoken via the lyrics, but could be felt from the music as well. A perfect example of this was “You Look Better“, where the accompanying track just had this sound that was arousing to my ears.
The tour is called The Rebirth of Marvin tour for the obvious reasons, his striking similarities in vocal styling and sound to the legendary Marvin Gaye, which is why he’s able to garner so many older fans. The personification of Marvin was even there through slight mannerisms, his dapper wardrobe and even down to having a glass of what I suspect to be cognac right on a table next to the mic.
What was most interesting to me but kind of hard to wrap my mind around was how easily he was able to code switch. Usually folks who create the type of music that London makes are labeled as having an “old soul”, which radiates through almost every part of their existence…but not this time. During his breaks in between songs, his playful nature and what I gather is his off stage persona is that of anyone other modern day millennial.
As this was my first time seeing him live, I was getting a hard, but much appreciated introduction to his first project and the songs that were lifted off of it. He performed fan favorites “Roller Coaster,” “Mulholland Drive,” and “Make Me Wanna“, all of which had me bobbing my head and snapping along. For all of his die hard fans, he even gave a tease of new music from his new, upcoming album when debuting the smooth interlude “Touch On You” and a funk inspired, upbeat track that was very Rick James like, which I’ll say was my favorite song of the night.
After a night where everyone’s spirits were being well fed, there was one last song to be performed, and that was the song that literally put him on the map. “Back To Your Place” was the perfect way to end the night, especially since we were all waiting to hear it anyways. I have to commend this brother on the show from the front to the back. The pacing of it was phenomenal! For a show that was comprised of mostly slow songs, never once did I feel that the show was moving slow, or did I get bored. Something else noteworthy was his synchronization with his music and the band.
I’m sure I’ll get burned at the stake for this, but I’ll just put it out there that I’m not exactly the biggest fan of old school music. What I CAN say though with an honest mind is that October London was thoroughly impressive, and garnered a new fan out of me, so much so that I went and copped his album.
