Oh the good old 90s! When music was about cherishing the one you love, not whining about how bitches ain’t loyal. When the highlight of a night in the disco was the last dance – a slow dance as you whispered the sweet lyrics in the girl’s ear, not rub-a-dubbing to some Jamaican artiste’s rumblings. When you bought a writing pad, poured out your heart to your sweet in a love letter and sprayed it with perfume before sealing in an envelope, of course ending it with dedications like Mariah Carey’s Alway’s Be My Baby, Celine Dion’s Love Doesn’t Ask Why, Whitney Houston’s I Will Always Love You, Boyz II Men’s I’ll Make Love to You and Joe’s No Else Comes Close.
As Joe performed his ballads like All That I am, Love Scene and Good Girls at the Nile Gold Jazz Safari on Friday night, the couples embracing each other in slow dance moves reminded us of “sosh”. Well the kids these days call it prom.
He got the girls screaming when he sang songs like If I was Yo Man and Don’t Wanna Be A Player. The 41-year-old American singer also got to interact with the audience as he performed and a few lucky girls got hugs from him.
It was full house, though the Safari didn’t get off to an electric start. People were aloof as Tizer performed, most likely because they were not previously exposed to the jazz group’s music, or their appreciation of jazz is just non-existent. But Norman Brown engaged the audience making a handful of them get up and groove to his jams.
It was not until Joe came on stage with his Stutter that the crowd came alive. With a mix of his ballads and up tempo R’nB jams, he kept the audience on their toes throughout his performance.
