Toni Braxton sat on my lap during her show at the Flamingo Hilton
Last night my wife and I had the privilege of going out on a date night. I say it’s a privilege because now that we have two kids, our weekly date night is more like a monthly occurrence (if we’re lucky).
We received tickets to see Toni Braxton in “Revealed” at the Flamingo Hilton on the Las Vegas Strip. The tickets were a generous birthday gift from a friend. Thank you!
We ended up at the front table, right next to the center stairs leading to the stage. Toni used this runway part of the stage quite a bit to interact with the audience, the thing she did best during the 90 minute show.
So, when she was pausing for photo opportunities with the audience mid-way in her show, I seized the moment and offered my lap for her to take a load off. She sat down for just a few seconds, long enough for the nearby photographer to snap five photos which they tried selling to me for $28 each.
As noteworthy as it is to have Toni Braxton sit in your lap (I’m wearing the same pants today), the most impressive moment of the night for me was when she sat down at the piano and played and sang. She’s a real musician!
Having said that, I can’t say I’d recommend her show to my friends. We were treated to more talking than singing, and more skimpy Vegas showmanship than quality entertainment. In fact, I take issue with her wardrobe person’s philosophy that less is more. Her best costume was a long white, elegant dress (I think it’s the one she wore at the Grammy’s many years ago; at least it reminded me of it).
I do really enjoy Toni Braxton’s music. I just didn’t hear much of it last night. I’m not certain if she even sang a song all the way through.
She’s such a dichotomy - a preacher’s kid, or “PK” as she put it, who now seems content to sell sex through music.
I contrast last night’s experience with a concert my wife and I attended last May at The Joint at the Hard Rock. We experienced 90 minutes of awesome music and amazing, smooth, consistent vocals from Anita Baker.
For all the money that went into Braxton’s show, I’d say Baker’s one night stand at The Joint was twice as good. For me, it’s not always about expensive costumes, slick production and location.
I’ll continue to enjoy Toni Braxton’s music, but I’ll go see Anita Baker again.
Comments
The beginning of Toni's run at the Flamingo was a lot better than it is now. I attended a show in Nov 06 when it was in it's first 6 month run (She started Aug 06). At that time she performed Every single song that had a video or any radio popularity that she had made. She also did songs from her last album LIBRA that she now says she won't perform any longer due to the bad blood at Blackground Records. It was a GREAT show. I went again this past Feb (08) and I saw how she cut out almost every song. None the less, I loved the show. She does have an album coming out in June (which knowing Toni means it will be more like the fall or winter) and a friend and I speculate that she is saving her voice for that recording.
Posted by: Braxtoni | April 7, 2008 06:33 AM