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Keys' Talents Shine Amid Concert's Glitz, Glamour

Tribune photo by MICHAEL SPOONEYBARGER

Alicia Keys' most striking moments Saturday night came when she performed solo at her piano.

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By CURTIS ROSS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 25, 2008

Updated: 05/25/2008 12:22 am

TAMPA - Alicia Keys' show Saturday night featured all the bells and whistles - troupes of dancers, an elaborate, multi-tiered stage, costume changes, even an introductory film starring Cedric the Entertainer as a minister preaching to a young Keys who is "about to go on a journey."

And yet the best moments featured Keys alone at her piano.

As a chart-topping pop and R&B artist, it was practically a given that Keys' show would be splashy. And if the dancers and hydraulics didn't exactly add to the show, they did not detract from it.

But watching and hearing Keys seated at her piano, alternately caressing and wringing every drop of emotion from "Sure Looks Good to Me," "Prelude to a Kiss" and "Superwoman" surely showed Keys' talents at their peak.

Not that Keys wasn't entertaining with the rest of her crew on stage.

She shared a bit of the spotlight with a pair of backing singers for "You Don't Know My Name" and "Teenage Love Affair," both excellent combinations of R&B swagger and pop craftsmanship.

Later, she pranced with her dancers on the brassy soul number "Wreckless Love," before returning to her piano for the dark, dramatic "Diary."

That Keys regularly tops the charts over the latest flavor-of-the-month is a testament to talent - sometimes, at least - triumphing over marketing.

Not that Keys hasn't been marketed well. But Saturday's show, before a Forum crowd of 7,201, proved that Keys can deliver, minus any trappings.

Ne-Yo put on the Ritz to begin his performance. His band, which included a horn section, was dressed in sharp, gray suits. The singer was preceded on stage by dancers in white top hats, while Ne-Yo himself strutted in a black tux and walking stick.

Ne-Yo's music may be standard contemporary R&B but it's more consistent than most. His lively performance fell back on cliches - plenty of hanky-panky with his dancers - but he showed enough class to let the band blow for a while and even gave the drummer some time.
Jordin Sparks had the pipes and personality to win "American Idol," and while both were on display Saturday night, she's going to need stronger material than the anonymous pop tunes that made up her set.

Reporter Curtis Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7568 or cross@tampatrib.com.

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