A capacity crowd was to be expected for John Legend at Avalon last Saturday night. The release of his second album, Once Again (Sony), has put the R&B crooner on the cusp of a major breakthrough, the kind that would make a one-night stand at a club like Avalon a fond memory. When he did appear, leaping down the stairs at the back of the stage, the crowd was already singing “Heaven,” a track from the new album.Backed by a full band and singers, Legend alternated between standing at the microphone and sitting at his piano as often as he switched between new and old songs. Yet the higher quality of his older material was evident. Get Lifted was filled with high-energy numbers; Once Again is a safer, more ballad-heavy affair. The fiery performances of “Used To Love U” and “Number One” from the earlier disc drew roars as the band built on the original arrangements with quicker rhythms and new layers of guitar and keyboards. When he sat down to play “Where Did My Baby Go,” the middling ballad from Once Again, the indifference was palpable.
Still, Legend is a natural performer: he has a powerful voice and he knows how to use the stage. Too many tracks from Once Again lack the soulful groove of his best work; live, however, a few of them — “Stereo” and “Slow Dance,” in particular — improved enormously. The band played a big part, tearing into these numbers with a rawness that’s lacking on his slick studio recordings. Legend has the potential to shed his Starbucks-friendly smoove leanings in favor of the timeless soul he’s folded into a hip-hop-dominated culture. And it’s on a tour like this, with a passionate crowd in an intimate setting, that he can learn the difference between the two.
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