Have you ever been to a concert? I’m not talking a meet and greet, album release or mini-showcase. I’m talking a full-fledged dynamic bring you to your feet concert, a bona fide show! Last week I had the pleasure of seeing New Edition in concert at the Verizon Center in DC. Now this was may have been my 7th time seeing these gentlemen grace the stage, but this performance stood bar none to the other times. During this period in music where R&B groups are few and far between it is refreshing to see a group of men in their mid to late 40’s actually singing live and painting the stage with precise dance moves. They learned from the best before them a list that includes The Temptations, The Four Tops, and The Jackson 5 just to name a few. So to say watching New Edition give a top-notch, Grade A+ show is an understatement. They took me to a place where my love and appreciation for music lives and grows emphatically.
They spent just about 90 minutes pouring every ounce of energy they had them and me singing hit after hit, adding in multiple outfit changes and let me not forget the infectious dance moves that had me up in my seat. New Edition is what you can call a tried and true music group. They have seen the highs and have seen the lows of fame. Each and everyone of them from Ralph, Ricky, Mike, Ronnie, Johnny and of course Bobby have experienced success individually and as a group. Throughout it all they have continued to master and execute a stage show that keeps the crowds coming. I’m talking about a group that hasn’t had an album out since 2010, with the groups one and only album, “One Love” on Diddy’s Bad Boy imprint. So what is it that causes this group to sellout venue after venue? Simple. They have the best die hard fans out there. Fans like myself who love great and timeless music and the fact that the guys put in the time and effort to entertain us for over 30 years.
I ask myself daily what current group or artists out there can carry the weight that New Edition has over the last 30 years? Not many at all to be honest. So where does this leave one of my favorite groups of all-time? The stingy side of me wants to see them never do another album again because I don’t want to see them tarnish a legacy. The music fiend in me urges and pretty-please begs for a new album. I guess I can’t have it both ways but I do know that finally that film about their 30-year career is coming. Although we all think we know their storied career we don’t and it would be good to see it on the big screen. So for now all we can do is continue to rejoice in concerts like the one I saw in DC, listen to our Pandora or Spotify play lists and of course go and see them when we can. Great music is not always a given, so when it is the only thing you can do is cherish and hold onto it tight. Just like the generation before me holds onto Motown and the Gamble and Huff era, I hold onto New Edition, Mint Condition, Tone, Toni, Tony and Boyz II Men. So kudos to you to you gents from Boston and Washington, DC, for the six of you have impacted my love for music just like the legends before you. I hope to share your sounds with my future kids. There is nothing old about New Edition!
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