Untitled Document

Jaheim, 112 & Ginuwine @ Hammersmith Apollo, London

4 June 2006

By Nooreen Kara

The name on the boards outside read ‘Jaheim’, but it was the support acts which really should have been headlining this gig. 112 kicked off the night with a slick performance, boyband dance routines and all. Each member shone with Slim leading and Daron, Mikey and the now topless Q (a treat in itself) all getting their solo pieces. The quartet harmonised to songs from their latest album, ‘Pleasure & Pain’, such as ‘Let This Go’ and ‘Only God Knows’, but didn’t forget the classics like ‘Peaches And Cream’, ‘Only You’, ‘Cupid’ and ‘Player’. Q impressed with an on-the-knees performance during ‘Anywhere’ and Daron flawlessly hit all the right notes during his lead in ‘It’s Over Now’. Rumours are the boys have recently been dropped from Def Jam, but boy, Jay-Z needs to fix up ‘cos that’s a hella lot of talent they’re losing.

Ginuwine followed, with his dancers informing the crowd ‘He’s gone crazy!’ before the 35-year old was wheeled onstage to the exorcist theme, face and upper half wrapped in white cloth. After talking to the crowd in odd accents, informing us he loves sex and talking about London a few times, Ginuwine was ‘allowed to be set free’ and he burst out of his little costume and straight into some of his new material, including ‘When We Make Love’, ‘Oh Girl’ and ‘I’m In Love’.

With classic good looks and a natural strong stance, Ginuwine easily commanded the stage, even more so when he started playing his older material like ‘So Anxious’ and ‘Stingy’. After a quick costume change, G came back onstage dressed like the grim reaper in a black cloak, looking more tall, dark and dead than handsome – until of course he removed his odd look in favour of a pretty polished cream blazer and jeans combo. With a split-audience sing-along, he had everyone crooning to the Nas duet ‘You Owe Me’ and club banger ‘Hell Yeah’. And all turned sexual when ‘In Those Jeans’ started playing and he had a female assistant come onstage wearing a pair of denims obviously a few sizes way too big. The ‘R&B Romeo’ felt the only way to fix this was to fill the empty space, as he climbed into her jeans with her and started grinding on her.

With a final outfit switch – shirt and cowboy hat, he ended his set with his 1996 debut single ‘Pony’ – 10 years on and Ginuwine still makes the ladies go weak at the knees. Literally galloping around the stage with his dancers, G ended his set ensuring the females would keep him on their mind that night – the only downside of his show being the absence of ‘Differences’, which I am reliably informed he performed the night before.

Succeeding the tempos of 112 and Ginuwine onstage was always going to be a pretty tricky job – far too big for the more reserved Jaheim. The balladeer sang every note with perfection, but stage presence is something he should probably leave off his CV. Walking around rather coyly, the most daring thing he did was undo a few buttons on his shirt – even then he was hesitant. Handing out roses to girls in the first row and changing into a suit for the more romantic tracks, Jaheim barely strayed from the clichéd. Nevertheless, his voice was unrivalled as he serenaded the audience and sang hits like ‘Fabulous’, ‘Put That Woman First’, ‘Ghetto Love’, ‘Everytime I think About Her’ and ‘Anything’. But with a final rendition of ‘Just in Case’, the audience were left feeling Jah could have offered so much more.

This concert was organised and promoted by TCO. Check out their site at www.tcogroup.co.uk for all future shows and events.

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	Jaheim, 112 & Ginuwine @ Hammersmith Apollo, London 4 June 2006 By Nooreen Kara The name on the boards outside read ‘Jaheim’, but it was the support acts which really should have been headlining this gig. 112 kicked off the night with a slick performance, boyband dance routines and all. Each member shone with Slim leading and Daron, Mikey and the now topless Q (a treat in itself) all getting their solo pieces. The quartet harmonised to songs from their latest album, ‘Pleasure & Pain’, such as ‘Let This Go’ and ‘Only God Knows’, but didn’t forget the classics like ‘Peaches And Cream’, ‘Only You’, ‘Cupid’ and ‘Player’. Q impressed with an on-the-knees performance during ‘Anywhere’ and Daron flawlessly hit all the right notes during his lead in ‘It’s Over Now’. Rumours are the boys have recently been dropped from Def Jam, but boy, Jay-Z needs to fix up ‘cos that’s a hella lot of talent they’re losing. Ginuwine followed, with his dancers informing the crowd ‘He’s gone crazy!’ before the 35-year old was wheeled onstage to the exorcist theme, face and upper half wrapped in white cloth. After talking to the crowd in odd accents, informing us he loves sex and talking about London a few times, Ginuwine was ‘allowed to be set free’ and he burst out of his little costume and straight into some of his new material, including ‘When We Make Love’, ‘Oh Girl’ and ‘I’m In Love’. With classic good looks and a natural strong stance, Ginuwine easily commanded the stage, even more so when he started playing his older material like ‘So Anxious’ and ‘Stingy’. After a quick costume change, G came back onstage dressed like the grim reaper in a black cloak, looking more tall, dark and dead than handsome – until of course he removed his odd look in favour of a pretty polished cream blazer and jeans combo. With a split-audience sing-along, he had everyone crooning to the Nas duet ‘You Owe Me’ and club banger ‘Hell Yeah’. And all turned sexual when ‘In Those Jeans’ started playing and he had a female assistant come onstage wearing a pair of denims obviously a few sizes way too big. The ‘R&B Romeo’ felt the only way to fix this was to fill the empty space, as he climbed into her jeans with her and started grinding on her. With a final outfit switch – shirt and cowboy hat, he ended his set with his 1996 debut single ‘Pony’ – 10 years on and Ginuwine still makes the ladies go weak at the knees. Literally galloping around the stage with his dancers, G ended his set ensuring the females would keep him on their mind that night – the only downside of his show being the absence of ‘Differences’, which I am reliably informed he performed the night before. Succeeding the tempos of 112 and Ginuwine onstage was always going to be a pretty tricky job – far too big for the more reserved Jaheim. The balladeer sang every note with perfection, but stage presence is something he should probably leave off his CV. Walking around rather coyly, the most daring thing he did was undo a few buttons on his shirt – even then he was hesitant. Handing out roses to girls in the first row and changing into a suit for the more romantic tracks, Jaheim barely strayed from the clichéd. Nevertheless, his voice was unrivalled as he serenaded the audience and sang hits like ‘Fabulous’, ‘Put That Woman First’, ‘Ghetto Love’, ‘Everytime I think About Her’ and ‘Anything’. But with a final rendition of ‘Just in Case’, the audience were left feeling Jah could have offered so much more. This concert was organised and promoted by TCO. Check out their site at www.tcogroup.co.uk for all future shows and events. Return To Concert Review Archive
	US Music \| Clubs \| Front Page \| UK Music \| Events