With that customary, very Detroit welcome, Michigan native Little Stevie Wonder took his “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” tour to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday night.
Escorted onstage by his daughter Aisha (of “Isn’t She Lovely” fame) and son Kailand, he continued: “This is a celebration—there’s so much I want to say, so much I want to sing, and so much I want you all to sing.” He was not exaggerating about the latter.
Wonder, dressed in demin and a black Detroit Tigers hat, soared through his wide repertoire, accompanied by a varied supporting band of no less than 30 musicians, demonstrating both his strong musical ability and his affection for his fans. The whole night was a happy singalong across the nearly-full venue, from the top rows to the cheap seats. The set was similar to other shows on Wonder’s 11-date pre-election tour, which began on October 8 in Pittsburgh and will end on November 2 in Chicago, but it was clear that Wonder was keeping the band on their toes — it’s difficult to turn 30 musicians on a dime (okay, 20 if you exclude the string section), whether you’re changing arrangements or wrapping early.
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With that customary, very Detroit welcome, Michigan native Little Stevie Wonder took his “Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart” tour to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Tuesday night. Escorted onstage by his daughter Aisha (of “Isn’t She Lovely” fame) and son Kailand, he continued: “This is a celebration—there’s so much I want to say, so much I want to sing, and so much I want you all to sing.” He was not exaggerating about the latter.
Wonder, dressed in demin and a black Detroit Tigers hat, soared through his wide repertoire, accompanied by a varied supporting band of no less than 30 musicians, demonstrating both his strong musical ability and his affection for his fans. The whole night was a happy singalong across the nearly-full venue, from the top rows to the cheap seats. The set was similar to other shows on Wonder’s 11-date pre-election tour, which began on October 8 in Pittsburgh and will end on November 2 in Chicago, but it was clear that Wonder was keeping the band on their toes — it’s difficult to turn 30 musicians on a dime (okay, 20 if you exclude the string section), whether you’re changing arrangements or wrapping early.
The tour’s declared objective is “a call for joy over anger, kindness over recrimination, peace over war,” although it is obvious that it is not meant to be openly political or partisan. A video screen behind the stage alternated slides encouraging people to vote: “Vote with the consciousness of truth, freedom, and tomorrow,” stated one (message attributed to Stevie), with QR codes directing concert-goers to non-partisan organizations working to get out the vote, and another slide with information about Michigan’s early voting period.
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However, he did make a lengthy political speech earlier in the evening. After leading the audience through a few bars of Motown labelmates the Four Tops’ classic “Can’t Help Myself,” he stated, “I just gotta say for the record, I don’t like nobody talking bad about Detroit,” referring to former President Donald Trump’s recent derogatory remarks about the city. Wonder then led the crowd in a chorus of, “Don’t you do it!”
The setlist drew from across the breadth of the man’s truly impressive career, but pulled heavily from 1976’s landmark “Songs in the Key of Life,” 1973’s “Innervisions,” and “Hotter than July” as well as numbers from his ’60s Motown years, leading the audience in a singalong on “You Are My Sunshine” and even a brief revival of his cover of the Beatles’ “We Can Work It Out” — a response to a technical problem at the start of “Master Blaster (Jammin’)” that caused Wonder’s He and the band swiftly recovered and got back into the flow, cruising through “Higher Ground,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” and “My Cherie Amour.”
The evening features a short mid-set pause during which Wonder rests his voice and a 30-person gospel choir takes over for a few songs. While many in the crowd saw the interlude as a mini-intermission, they raced back to their seats when the singers stated that their next song would be an homage to Maze vocalist Frankie Beverly, who died last month.
Wonder reappeared to the stage wearing an extravagant black leather trenchcoat and matching cap, which was ideal for the show’s second half, which included the calm and cerebral 1970s Stevie. He began with his 1973 smash “Don’t You Worry ‘Bout A Thing,” but regrettably, mic difficulties resurfaced and halted the song three times. However, he sang magnificently on the following “Love’s in Need of Love Today” and notably “Village Ghetto Land,” for which he said that he had previously used a synthesizer but now had a string section. His unique voice has lost some flexibility, but it’s in excellent condition for a 75-year-old.
The rest of the concert was nearly a medley, as Wonder said he was aware the time was ticking but there were so many songs he wanted to perform. So he’d play a few of lines of “Sir Duke,” a stanza of “Isn’t She Lovely,” and just enough of “I Just Called to Say I Love You” to get the audience enthused. The crowd had enough time to begin a line dance on the floor during “My Eyes Don’t Cry,” only to lose it to “Superstition.” Stevie says they have to go, but then comes “Do I Do,” and he sits on top of his grand piano.
The gospel choir returned, with 60 members on stage, and he said farewell one again, but then sang “Another Star.” Wonder then introduces each player in the 30-piece band, and only then do Aisha and Kailand take their father from one end of the platform to the other, allowing him to revel in his well-deserved adulation.
While some had anticipated Barack Obama to make an appearance – he was farther down Woodward at Huntington Place, channeling Eminem — by the conclusion of the long evening, no one was grumbling about anything.
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