Chris Brown is a handsome devil with a million-megawatt smile and astounding dance moves. Which is why, no doubt, that hundreds of enthusiastic young women pushed away from the Thanksgiving dinner table Thursday and packed the House of Blues to see the R&B star in concert.
Brown¹s recent legal troubles with former girlfriend, superstar singer Rihanna, have cast a shadow over his career. He pleaded guilty to felony assault and is serving a sentence of five years’ probation, six months of community labor and a year of domestic-violence counseling.
Brown’s current road jaunt is dubbed the Fan Appreciation Tour, and part of the proceeds will benefit the charity Best Buddies International. This scaled-down tour of clubs and theaters aims to restore Brown’s image, reconnect him to his fan base and generate hype for his third album, “Graffiti,†which arrives Dec. 8.
Onstage at the House of Blues, Brown didn’t convey contrition or express thanks that he isn’t in prison. His banter consisted of comments like, “Where my dancing girls at?†and “Where my single ladies at right now?†During “Take You Down,†he thrust his hips into the floor and ripped off his shirt to reveal several tattoos, which include an image of Jesus on his upper arm.
Backed by a drummer, a DJ and a quartet of male dancers, Brown sang, danced and lip-synced to recorded backing tracks. He offered snippets and truncated versions of several songs, making this concert akin to flipping the TV remote control between episodes of a dull sitcom and “So You Think You Can Dance.â€
There were so many canned performances incorporated into this show — such as T-Pain on “Kiss Kiss†and “American Idol†winner Jordin Sparks on “No Air†— that a guest appearance by Chicago’s Lupe Fiasco was a welcome relief. Fiasco rapped along to a backing track of his mesmerizing hit “Superstar,†but he didn’t stay onstage very long.
Brief a cappella sections at the end of “With You†and “No Air†showed that Brown has a fine singing voice, but his more impressive talents are as a dancer. The choreography involving Brown and his dance troupe was consistently dazzling. His bag of tricks included James Brown-style splits, Michael Jackson-esque twirls, old-school popping and locking, and some new millennial krumping.
Brown opened the 65-minute show with his current hit, “I Can Transform Ya,†and closed it with his best track to date, “Forever.â€
A full backing band and sincere remarks from Brown would have made this show feel more authentic. Some fans may forgive Brown for his actions, but the general public will never forget the damage he has done.