Too much and too little of John Legend

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

John Legend performed at the Northrop Auditorium in Minneapolis on Wednesday night.

By packing a whole lot into a 95-minute show Wednesday night, the soul star truncated some songs and didn't get his groove on until the end of the program.

By JON BREAM, Star Tribune

Last update: November 20, 2008 - 8:54 AM

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Soul star John Legend wanted to make a grand entrance Wednesday night at Northrop Auditorium.

On a giant video screen at the back of the stage, Legend was depicted entering a boxing ring, gloves tightened, ready for the big fight. Then he actually arrived in person by scurrying from the Northrop lobby, down an aisle to the stage. After the star got to center stage, with the band already playing, a roadie walked out and handed Legend a microphone. Oops. The contender didn't have his gloves.

It was opening night of the Grammy-grabbing soul man's Evolver Tour to celebrate his similarly titled third album. There were some first-night glitches, mostly involving that roadie distractingly running onto the stage in the middle of songs more than a half-dozen times to do such important things as retrieve Legend's sunglasses left atop the grand piano.

The bigger problems involved artistic decisions: The poorly paced 95-minute show lacked the kind of musicality expected from the super-talented Legend and the kind of excitement he has delivered in four previous Twin Cities appearances. It wasn't until the final six numbers in a 23-song set (including two medleys) that Legend lived up to his reputation as one of soul music's most musical and satisfying showmen.

One of the issues was his desire to pack so many songs into such a short evening, resulting in truncated treatments that didn't allow the songs to build drama or excitement. "Let's Get Lifted" lacked its usual uplifting vibe, and "I Can Change" just wasn't inspiring enough.

Another issue was that much of the material from "Evolver" was propelled by too-loud mechanical rhythms that masked the melodies and musicality. Moreover, Legend too often preferred to be a standup singer instead of the more familiar piano man. Sometimes it worked, particularly on 2006's "Slow Dance," during which he slow-danced with himself.

But the real John Legend, 29, was revealed when he sat at the piano for "Save Room," a dreamy love song rendered with a creamy voice. He found his groove on the heartfelt "Everybody Knows," an "Evolver" ballad that was seductive in its minimalism. But it eventually built in intensity and volume as Legend, stationed alone in the middle of the stage, knocked over his stool and microphone stand and kicked this dramatic number into an extended emotional workout.

Finally liberated, he tore into "Green Light," his current and most danceable hit, that gave the 3,017 fans the go-ahead to party in overdrive. But this piano man is really about emotional ballads, and he slayed everybody with "Ordinary People," his first hit, extended with gospelly riffing and an emphatic ending.

He then raised the emotional stakes on "If You're Out There," a "We Are the World"-type call for peace, faith and leadership as images of Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln and other icons appeared on the video screen, ending, of course, with Barack Obama, which elicited the night's loudest reaction.

Having won the fight (on a split decision), Legend exited the way he'd entered -- by walking triumphantly through the crowd.

For set list and fan comments, go to www.startribune.com/poplife. Jon Bream • 612-673-1719