My evening with Stevie Wonder
“…you’ve brought some joy inside my tears..”
Lyrical genius with a deep understanding of spiritual power, and a musical connoisseur. That is how I describe Stevie Wonder’s music
On the Tuesday night of November 25th, 2014, my life changed. I attended the STEVIE WONDER concert in Toronto, and yes with no doubt it is one of the best concerts I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some of the best
He performed all songs from the album: Songs In the Key of Life. Every single one, in order…It was a carbon copy of what I remembered. What a Thrill to be able to sing all of the lyrics, of all the songs… once again
For me, this concert represented a fresh beginning. Let me explain
My childhood was challenging. I escaped my reality by living through “perfect” images that I saw on TV and imagining that they were mine. Music was a big part of my childhood, my home and my imagination. R ‘n B, soul music and of course funk were my favourites. I spent a lot of time listening to music, and creating art….they were my saviours.
My parents loved Stevie Wonder and we had every album…still do
Innervisions, Fullfillgness ‘First Finale’ and Songs of the Key of Life were 3 of the albums that frequently made the rotation in our home
So much so, that I connected those albums to the trauma that I experienced..mostly Innervisions. Each time I heard songs from any of those albums it would bring me back to “that time”. It was such a conflict to love these albums, but to feel a deep sadness of memories that would never go away.
Tuesday night was the night that I began to elevate his music to a beautiful place in my heart
As I watched the stage from above, I felt an energy of happiness transpire through me and I was overcome by emotion
Emotions that I have felt before through each melody, each chord of music that brought up feelings of my childhood situation
Stevie’s lyrics always created a vision for me…a feeling too. Each song had its own movie and I went there…a lot.
In my eyes, Stevie Wonder’s music from the 70’s, represented Black America, at that time.. the struggle, the pain, the pride. It all felt real.
“Love’s in Need of Love Today”, that was of course the song that began our journey that night, and as I heard the first key, I knew…I knew things would change. I sang the lyrics I remembered and muffled the ones I didn’t. Fans were so happy and so thrilled to be amongst such a musical genius like Stevie Wonder, and his 30+ band. A 10-piece string section from Toronto, a half a dozen backup singers, the gorgeous India.Arie who accompanied him on several songs and wore some of the most beautiful African dresses I’ve ever seen. The amazing keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, vocalist extroadinaire Keith John (son of Little Willie John), the original recording artist behind the hit “Fever”, four percussionists and an 8 member brass band..they killed it
This is, as I mentioned, one of the best and one of the most memorable concerts I’ve ever seen.
Here’s a sample of the MAGICAL Evening
Stevie Wonder Toronto Concert Photos courtesy of Notisha Massaquoi
Thank you Girl
