“They appear so good collectively!” That was simply one of many many enthusiastic fan pronouncements overheard through the Los Angeles cease for one of many yr’s most anticipated reunion excursions: Raphael Saadiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Toné!: Simply Me and You Tour 2023.
The Oakland, California-bred R&B trio — brothers Raphael Saadiq and D’Wayne Wiggins, plus cousin Timothy Christian Riley — additionally sounded simply as rattling good as they did of their ‘90s heyday. From the time the group jumpstarted Saturday night time’s (Nov. 11) proceedings with “Home Celebration (I Don’t Know What You Come to Do)” from 1991’s Home Celebration 2 soundtrack till exiting arm-in-arm after rocking Inglewood (L.A.), California’s YouTube Theater with the becoming finale “Feels Good,” Tony! Toni! Toné! stored the viewers on its toes for almost two hours. Additionally getting their groove on through the sold-out, no-phones present: actor/comic Eddie Murphy, Widespread and Jennifer Hudson, producer No I.D., NBA legend John Salley and actor Anthony Anderson.
“The place are my Day Ones at … Are you all able to go on this journey?” queried Saadiq through the first half of the present, which included such hits as “If I Had No Loot,” “Let’s Get Down” and “No matter You Need,” plus fan faves like “Til Final Summer time.” All through the night, the person abilities of every of the titular TTT members was spotlighted.
Wiggins was vocal lead on “No matter You Need” and “Til Final Summer time,” which had been sing-along crowd-pleasers, as was his dexterous guitar taking part in. Riley’s commanding presence on keyboards additionally drew raves — at one level whereas taking part in, he went down on his knees, which prompted Saadiq to notice, “That’s new!” Bassist Saadiq’s personal tenor-to-falsetto vocals rounded out the trio’s nonetheless elegant harmonies as on the basic “(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow.” Additionally getting their probability to shine had been members of TTT’s expert band and estimable background singers.
From there, after a 10-minute intermission, the Tonys pulled out all of the stops. Among the many highlights: Saadiq revisiting his work as a solo artist (“Be Right here”), as a member of Lucy Pearl (“Dance Tonight”) and as a songwriter/producer behind hits for different artists. That oh-wow journey down reminiscence lane included D’Angelo’s “Woman” and “Untitled (How Does It Really feel),” Erykah Badu/Widespread’s “Love of My Life (An Ode to Hip-Hop)” and Solange’s “Cranes within the Sky.” After that, an enormous singalong ensued because the group shifted into fourth gear with “It By no means Rains (In Southern California),” “Anniversary” and the aforementioned “Feels Good.”
Declared Wiggins of the night, “It’s been 25 years since we’ve been onstage collectively. We’re household without end!”
Kicking off Sept. 21 in Birmingham, the 25-date Raphael Saadiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Toné!: Simply Me and You Tour 2023 itinerary included stops in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Houston and Las Vegas. The trek will wrap later this week when the group returns to its Bay Space stomping grounds: Oakland (Nov. 14-15) and San Francisco (Nov. 17).
