Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Stephanie Mills, and Gladys Knight perform together on a very special package show
Four of R&B music’s most legendary Queens took the stage at Capital One Arena on Friday (Oct 3rd) for a once-in-a-lifetime package show. Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Stephanie Mills, and Gladys Knight are headlining The Queens Tour.
Knight started the evening, emerging in a red suit that contrasted nicely with her black-clad band. She ran through ten of her most beloved songs in about 20 minutes. Her voice is just as rich and sultry as ever, with a signature softness that works well on the love ballads. Of course, she can get funky on “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.” She closed, of course, with “Midnight Train to Georgia,” which had the whole arena chugging along with her vocal locomotive.
Mills came next, a blue dress sparkling along with the silver sequins her eight-piece band wore in unison. Mills is the true goddess of the R&B love song. She seemed hard-pressed to stand still. The music moved through her as Mills grooved from one side of the stage to the other. The standout of her set was “I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love.” She featured each of her three backing vocalists, whose killer pipes stunned the crowd.
LaBelle brought a nostalgia party with over a dozen backing musicians and singers. Her vocals were worlds better than when I saw her earlier this year, when she admirably powered through a winter cold at MGM National Harbor. LaBelle gave powerful vocals on “Somebody Loves You Baby” and “When You Talk About Love.”
I’d like to shout out LaBelle’s immaculate horn section, which she often let come front and center. The three-piece elevated every number. As the person next to me said, “I didn’t know a trombone could sound like that.”
After an interlude fronted by her band and a few guests, LaBelle returned, having changed her costume, to boot. She delivered a tear-jerking “You Are My Friend.” To close out, “Lady Marmalade” blew the roof off the arena.
The final legend to play on this three-hour, 40-song set is Khan. Really, no one can follow her crazy voice as hers is a career that has transcended generations. Her ten-song set demonstrated that breadth.
She opened with “I Feel For You,” a Prince cover she made famous in her own right. “Whatcha Gonna Do For Me” came soon after, showcasing that Khan can still climb to the highest reaches of her range.
She wore a sparkling black jumpsuit as she effortlessly wailed in her distinctive manner that has become synonymous with world music. Her mark is so indelible, she became a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years ago.
The one-two punch of Khan’s biggest hits, “Tell Me Something Good” and “I’m Every Woman,” sent the crowd home on a high note.
To see this many legends together on the same stage is a rarity, even for a guy who finds himself crammed in a concert seat most weekends. Individually, these artists sell out casino showrooms and classic theaters. But to see them on stage at an arena is to fully understand the lasting impact of four queens who changed the landscape of soul music forever.
