Good thing the temperature dropped a few degrees Thursday. You could almost feel a scintilla of holiday spirit during John Legend’s Legendary Christmas Tour stop at Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Not really.
But a holiday tour has to start somewhere — so why not in Clearwater, Florida? Hey, only 40 days ‘til Christmas.
Slideshow: John Legend's Christmas show at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater
Now that I’ve gotten that bit of Grinch-itude out of my system, let us proceed. Legend, a man for all seasons, has a special fondness for the holiday season. He told us so on Thursday night. He released an album, A Legendary Christmas, in October, something he’d always wanted to do. (Gee, I wonder what he’ll title his greatest hits collection?)
The good news — for me, at least: The show did not hammer the Christmas theme into submission. It included holiday favorites (“Silver Bells,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Christmas Time is Here”) and holiday-themed originals (“Wrap Me Up in Your Love,” “By Christmas Eve”) from the new disc, but also a helping of hits from Legend’s catalog (“Love Me Now,” “Save Room,” “Green Light”).
The grandiose stage set was largely free of overt holiday accoutrements. The graphics on the big screen relied on vivid shapes and colors (and, of course, some Legendary home movies featuring wife Chrissy and daughter Luna) — not images of Frosty the Snowman and Snoopy on skates.
The concert gets high marks for wholesomeness and sentimentality. Not so much for depth. Legend’s voice was flawless, pitch perfect. But aside from a few moments, his singing did not evoke much in the way of palpable emotion. One notable exception was “Ordinary People,” which he performed alone at the piano and punched home with some thrilling falsetto flights.
Legend’s backing ensemble — eight musicians, including three horns, and three female singers — played in pastels. When the stage transformed into “JL’s Juke Joint” for the frothily swinging “Merry Christmas, Baby,” it evoked a Broadway show — as opposed to, say, a juke joint.
Legend changed suits three times (teal; maroon; deep red dinner jacket with black tux pants). He invited a woman on stage to dance with him during “Tonight (Best You Ever Had)” (Don’t fret — it was very chaste). He danced and swayed and snapped his fingers. He played a white piano, rolled out and positioned center stage.
It all added up to… not my kinda thing at all. But I give John Legend credit for the commitment to his performance. (Disclosure: I did not know it was a Christmas show until five minutes before leaving the house. Caveat emptor.)
The occasion inspired some spectacular PDAs amid the crowd of 1,600, the kind of which a geezer like me doesn’t often encounter. My favorite was a young baseball hat-wearing dude and his girl who bounded across rows and over seats and plunked down right in front of me, then proceeded to make out repeatedly, a minute-and-a-half at a time.
Thanks, kids, you added some entertainment value to the show.
This article appears in Nov 15-22, 2018.