R. Kelly
Riverside Theater
Milwaukee, WI
July 12, 2001
R. Kelly gets soulful.
Story and Photos by Phil Bonyata
Kelly and his legion of rabid fans threw a party at The Riverside in Milwaukee last Thursday night.
There probably hasn't been this much crotch grabbing since Caligula took his last steam bath. Kelly thinks that constantly grabbing his crotch and slowly caressing his private parts during a soulful number is sensual. It might seem like that to some in the house as witnessed by the satisfied sighs of many, but Kelly would be better served to tone it down a bit and serve up some more bump-and-grind dance moves.
Kelly culled heavily from his last album TP-2.Com, with all of it's soulful rap and tenderly sung ballads. On "Fiesta" he slowed down to take in the screams from his audience and let his velvety voice do the talking.
Kelly, who runs the gamut from rap romanticism to pseudo gospel undertones, successfully mixes many potentially alien musical genres.
The band anchored Kelly's frisky ballads with a conductor's aplomb. Backed by seven dancers, Kelly and company hip-shaked the stage into their very own disco that would have made the now defunct Studio 54 proud. On "Your Body's Calling," Kelly made the sexually charged song even more overt by stopping to hear the blatant mating calls of the many enamored throughout The Riverside.
Sex sells, just ask R. Kelly.
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