Close to the tip of a night dominated by queens, a king was maintaining Chaka Khan ready.
“Stevie Wonder’s in the house tonight,” Khan mentioned late Sunday as she stood within the highlight at Inglewood’s Kia Discussion board. “I don’t know where he is.” The veteran soul-music star wandered over to the sting of the stage, the black fringe of her bedazzled cape swaying with each step, and peered out into the gang. “Steve, you over there?”
Khan was in the course of her set to shut Sunday’s installment of a touring R&B revue referred to as “The Queens” that launched final week in Las Vegas and has her on the highway via the autumn with three fellow lifers in Patti LaBelle, Gladys Knight and Stephanie Mills. (One longs to have been within the room after they determined who performs final.) She’d come out singing “I Feel for You” — saucy, informal, effortlessly funky — then glided via “Do You Love What You Feel” and “What Cha’ Gonna Do for Me.” Now her would-be particular visitor was nowhere to be discovered.
Chaka Khan performs with Stevie Surprise.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Occasions)
“Stevie Wonder!” she mentioned once more, trying to summon him to the stage. “We go back a long, long way. I remember once we did a tour, he and I — must have been back in the ’80s, the ’70s or something. It was that long ago. We were on tour for dang near two years. Two friggin’ frack years.” Khan went on for a minute a few vexing previous file deal then appeared properly to suppose higher of that. “Call him,” she instructed the gang, which began up a “Stevie” chant.
“What?” boomed a voice finally over the sound system. It was Surprise, shuffling out from the wings sporting his signature shades and beret to hitch his previous pal for — nicely, for what? Khan had arrange Surprise’s cameo by saying they need to do “I Feel for You” once more since Surprise performed harmonica on the unique file in 1984. However Surprise didn’t seem to have gotten that observe: After clasping fingers with Khan, he began telling the story of writing “Tell Me Something Good” a decade earlier for her group Rufus, which led Khan to cue her backing band on that quantity as a substitute.
And what a quantity it was. That slinky up-and-down riff nonetheless a marvel of rhythmic ingenuity that impressed Khan and Surprise to go off in a volley of advert libs just like the seasoned professionals they’re.
Patti Labelle performs.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Occasions)
Indicators of life corresponding to that one are exactly the rationale to go to a live performance like “The Queens,” during which the huge expertise of the performers — Mills was the youngest at 68, LaBelle the oldest at 80 — serves not as a safeguard in opposition to the surprising however as a assure that no matter would possibly occur is totally roll-with-able.
Mills obtained up there Sunday and found an unwelcome local weather state of affairs — “I wish they would cut that air off,” she mentioned, “it’s blowing so cold on me” — however went forward and sang the bejesus out of “Home,” from “The Wiz.” LaBelle put out a name for prepared males from the viewers — “Black, white, straight, gay,” she made clear — then presided over an impromptu expertise present as every man did a little bit of “Lady Marmalade” for her. After which there was Knight’s handler, who appeared to point out up just a few beats early to information her offstage after “Midnight Train to Georgia.” No biggie: He may simply stand there holding her arm gently for a minute whereas she traded “I’ve got to go’s” together with her background singers.
Gladys Knight performs.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Occasions)
One more reason to go to “The Queens,” particularly on Mom’s Day, was to behold the finery displayed onstage (and within the crowd). Knight wore a crisp crimson pantsuit with glittering figure-eight earrings, Mills an off-the-shoulder mermaid robe. LaBelle confirmed off two outfits, rising in a silky blue go well with earlier than becoming a protracted tunic-style costume. Throughout “On My Own,” she kicked off her heels, sending them hurtling throughout the stage; later, she spritzed herself from a bottle of perfume then spritzed the entrance row for good measure.
As a three-hour program — Knight opened at 7 p.m. on the dot — Sunday’s present moved shortly, with a rotating stage that whirred to life after every lady’s set. And naturally no one caught round lengthy sufficient to supply up something however hits. The musical pleasures had been the ripples of element in all these acquainted tunes: slightly ha-ha-ha Knight used to punctuate “That’s What Friends Are For”; LaBelle’s frisky vocal runs in “When You Talk About Love,” which she sang as a stagehand got here out to assist put her in-ear monitor again in; the way in which Khan toyed together with her phrasing in “Through the Fire,” slowing down while you thought she’d pace up and vice versa. (No person needs to begin a battle right here, however Khan was undoubtedly the night time’s finest singer.)
Stephanie Mills performs.
(Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Occasions)
After bringing the Mom’s Day viewers to its toes with “I’m Every Woman” — someplace on the market was Khan’s personal 91-year-old mother, she mentioned — she began to make for the exit when her band revved up the throbbing synth lick from “Ain’t Nobody.”
“Oh, one more?” she mentioned to nobody specifically. “S—. One more!”
