A Journey Through Music: Boyz II Men

Boyz II Men

James L. Knight Center

Miami, FL

November 5, 2011

Out of all the shows I’ve been to recently, this was the one I was looking forward to most. Unfortunately, I would not call a six song set a good show. They came out with high energy belting out “Motown Philly,” I was so excited. ‘It's long overdue but now Philly is slammin’, Boyz II Men, ABC, BBD, The east coast family’ They immediately followed with “On Bended Knee.” This is my personal favorite Boyz II Men song. It was like being ten years old all over again. Courtney (my best friend) and I were dancing and singing every word! Then came the inevitable “song from their new album.” That is to be expected and it wasn’t half bad. Every once is a while the unveiling of a new song at a show is an instant hit, but for the most part, we just want to hear the old stuff. Nathan obliged and told us, “Here’s a classic.” My heart jumped and I waited for the familiar pangs of one of my old favorites. Four notes told me it was “I’ll make love to you.” I cheered! The guys went to the side of the stage and each grabbed a bouquet of roses that they proceeded to hand out to their screaming fans! Such charmers! It reminded me of bands like the Four Tops or the Temptations with their synchronized dances and matching outfits. The roses were Boyz II Men’s powder blue suits. It was a nice touch and their voices have not faded in the last seventeen years since I saw them the first time. “I’ll make love to you” is one of their more challenging ballads with high vocals and sustained notes. They were still very impressive. But, they took the wind out of our sails and sang another new song from their new album. Ok, ok, get to the good stuff. If you’ve been keeping track we are already at five songs. That means there is only one left. They ended the show in the only way they could with, “End of the Road.” This song is a classic. It can hold its own among some of the best love songs of all time. I was in my happy place. That is, until they started thanking the crowd. What? Wait…they just started. They just buttered us up and left. Where are they going? Six songs total with two new songs. The crowd just stood there in disbelief as they walked off the stage. The lights went up and the roadies started packing up the stage. This was not a promising scene for an encore. The crowd looked around at each other and said things like, “Is that it?” and “They’re not coming back out?” It was over. The building anticipation of the night was over in thirty minutes.

Lets explore why this may have happened. We can rule out age. Band members Nathan Morris, Wanya Morris, and Shawn Stockman are all in their late thirties, early forties. Original band member Michael McCary left Boyz II Men in 2003 due to chronic back problems resulting from scoliosis. He was their famous “deep voice” man. My hypothesis on their short set is either they ran out of time or they don’t realize how loved they still are, or both.

In respect to time, there were four acts before Boyz II Men. We arrived around 8:30pm, a half an hour after show time, and no one had started. There were two newbie acts not listed on the show. After, were the scheduled opening acts of Faith Evans and Keith Sweat. This show was billed as the Best of the 90’s. I remembered both Evans and Sweat, but they were fillers. I was there to see Boyz II Men. Both acts complained that they had to cut their show short. I guess time was an issue, but then I wonder, “Why have the newbie acts?” So time was crunched. But I have been to many shows that go over time. Bonnaroo 2008, Pearl Jam played two hours longer then originally scheduled. It messed up the rest of the show schedule, but they still played because they knew their fans wanted them. This may be the issue here.

Earlier this week I was upset to see Boyz II Men as glorified back up singers for Justin Bieber on Dancing with the Stars. Justin Bieber was singing some Christmas song and they backed him up. What?!? This was embarrassing. That’s like having Aretha Franklin as a back up singer to Miley Cyrus. I was not happy. I hope Boyz II Men don’t see themselves as has-beens. To me they are one of the great classic bands of all time. Everyone in that room felt that way last night and would have stayed to watch them for hours. If the show producers were telling them to wrap it up, they should have kept on singing. They have power in their voices and in their fans. As one of the premier R & B bands of all time, they have clout. I hope they know that.

To end on a positive note, this venue did not check my purse at all. Therefore, my camera and zoom lens got to come along! I hope you enjoy the pictures and the videos I took with my phone. I love this band and always will, they are too young to give up on themselves. I am seeing George Thorogood Thanksgiving weekend. This will be the fourth time I’ve seen him. He plays for hours, is much older and gives encores. If George can do it, Nathan Wanya and Shawn could have too!