By Cheryl V. Jackson (
Chicago Sun-Times)
Being at a Patti LaBelle concert is a lot like having a visit with a favorite aunt. Throughout the meeting, you can expect to be gifted with doses of encouragement, commentary on pop culture, words of support and what-you-see-is-what-you-get sass.
Oh, and there's the voice.
"Sometimes they say, 'She sings so loud!' " she told fans Friday night at the Arie Crown Theater. "That's the way God planned it.
"I'm just a loud girl."
A loud girl who, on stage, appears to not have lost a step since she topped record charts decades ago. And who, between hits ("Love Need and Want You," "If Only You Knew," "You Are My Friend"), brought us up on how she was coping with life and loss.
She spoke of missing late singers Luther Vandross and Gerald Levert, as well as the deaths of her parents and siblings ("Walk Around Heaven").
She asked the audience to send prayers for Vandross' mother, who has been in an induced sleep for about a month.
She addressed the pain of dealing her divorce after three decades of marriage ("On My Own").
And she expressed anticipation of a 2008 reunion tour with LaBelle band mates Sarah Dash and Nona Hendryx ("Isn't It a Shame").
She did all this while holding up the standard of a girlie girl who knows her worth. At 63, LaBelle isn't afraid to let us know that she knows she's cute.
"Take these pictures, baby," she urged, posing for the cameras and stepping around stage in 6-inch heels. She changed from one fabulous pair to another during the course of the hour-long set.
Proclaiming herself and opening act Jeffrey Osborne "original gangstas" of singing, she lamented the lack of talent displayed by some of today's aspiring popsters.
"They let them think they can sing, and that's not nice. Simon is right. Most of the time, he's telling the truth."
But when audience members wanted the mic, LaBelle wasn't stingy.
She handed it over when a woman approached the edge of the stage and began talking to her at the beginning of "Over the Rainbow." As the music continued, the concertgoer, Melissa, related how diabetic LaBelle had inspired her while she was hospitalized with the same condition. LaBelle picked up the song at its end.
She picked out other audience members to join her in "Lady Marmalade," including a stunner named Martin who was discovered during the Osborne set and who immediately became an audience favorite.
Diva seems an overused word in describing today's performers. Miss Patti stays in a whole other league. She's family. Time with her is always well spent.
