GO LIVE: NEW EDITION BRINGS ALL THE CULTURE TO CAPITAL ONE ARENA

April 10, 2022

The first time I saw New Edition was in 1984 at the Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. As a young girl –heck, even now, they were my favorite boy group because even though they were older than I was, I felt like we grew up together.

So when New Edition’s: The Culture Tour announcement was made I KNEW that I had to attend this show even more so when I saw that 90’s R&B Kings Jodeci and the Legendary funk/soul singer Charlie Wilson was on the line up.

Watching the arena fill with fans that spanned across generations. It was comforting to see the families, couples and girls night all anticipating a rememberable night at Captial One Arena.

Jodeci, the former “Bad boys of R&B” started the show off with each member filing out one by one to a full arena of screams, as they hit the crowd with hits and fan favorite album cuts, but during the first few songs multi-instrumentalist, producer DeVante Swing was missing –it wasn’t until the fourth song when his voice filled the arena with the familiar line, “….Don’t talk, just listen.”, he appeared. Jodeci’s set was so good, that they left the audience wanting more. Honestly, its time that they headline their own tour.

SETLIST

INTRO

I’M STILL WAITING

FUN TONIGHT

COME AND TALK TO ME

STAY

EVERY MOMENT

LOVE U 4 LIFE

FOREVER MY LADY

MY HEART BELONGS TO YOU

CRY FOR YOU

FEENIN

FREEK’N YOU

GET ON UP

Charlie Wilson has been performing 45+ years, so he knows how to entertain. Uncle Charlie showed his tour nephews how to do it and to continue to do it at 69 years of age. Starting his set off dancing with his band and dancers to “Party Train”, a Gap Band favorite. For roughly an hour Wilson ran though a barrage of hit songs from both his Gap Band and solo years. With the tenacity of his performance, one would never know that he just had back and knee surgeries. Wilson showed that age ain’t nothing but a number.

SETLIST

INTRO

PARTY TRAIN

EARLY IN THE MORNING

BEAUTIFUL

COMPUTER LOVE

LET’S CHILL

BURN RUBBER

CHARLIE, LAST NAME WILSON

THERE GOES MY BABY

YEARNING FOR YOUR LOVE/BE YOUR MAN

YOU ARE

I’M BLESSED

OUTSTANDING

The intermission was just as live as the show; DJ Kool knew to keep the crowd dancing to the hot songs from Go-Go, Hip-Hop and soul. Remember DJ’s you HAVE to play Go-Go when in DC. The music just kept the anticipation for Ronnie, Bobby, Ricky, Mike, Ralph and Johnny.

New Edition as unified group is a force to be reckoned with, but when they break off into their solo endeavors they are just as powerful. With a video montage of a radio starting the show, then the large screen rises to show all six members, dressed in long white trench coats and matching hats. The crowd sung the early hits “Candy Girl,” “Mr. Telephone Man,” “Cool It Now” word for word and hit all the choreography moves. One thing that was special about this show, was that it was the hometown show for member Johnny Gill –who earlier in the day received a proclamation from the Mayor deeming March 31st “Johnny Gill Day.”

The fellas treated the fans to sweet vocals that we all loved as well as, high energy stage presence. Between the group songs, the set list was comprised of the members solo songs, Johnny Gill (“My, My, My”, “Fairweather Friend”) Bobby Brown (“Every Little Step,” “Rock Witcha,” “My Prerogative”) Bell Biv Devoe (“Do Me!”,“Poison”) and Ralph Tresvant (“Sensitivity”). The energy was through the roof especially when BBD performed “Poison” and the background dancers recreated the dance moves from the video –and I was dancing right along with them in my DeVante Swing of Jodeci t-shirt. Smoothing out the night, they closed the show with the 1988 classic, “Can You Stand The Rain?” Proving that they have indeed earned the Legendary status.

SETLIST

CANDY GIRL

MR.TELEPHONE MAN

IF IT ISN’T LOVE

RONI

MY MY MY

DO ME

FAIRWEATHER FRIEND

YOU’RE NOT MY KIND OF GIRL

HIT ME OFF

NE HEARTBREAK

MEDLEY: JEALOUS GIRL, IS THIS THE END, COOL IT NOW, MY SECRET, COUNT ME OUT