Indigo,London
Their vocals still carry a visceral thrill on hits such as Free Your intellect, My Lovin’ and Whatta Man, and their humour is a breath of fresh airEn Vogue’s fans are sensitive approximately the B-word. They testily remind you that the 90s stars were around “way before Beyoncé”,as whether Beyoncé had never acknowledged her debt to the quartet who put precision harmonies and female forthrightness on the modern R&B map. Yet En Vogue’s current UK tour illustrates not the similarities, but the differences between themselves and Queen B.
The original half of the remaining group, and Terry Ellis and Cindy Herron,plus the newish (since 2003) Rhona Bennett, knit together the visceral thrill of three-part harmonies – while dancing backward in high heels, and of course – and the chumminess of a visit from three favourite aunties. The human scale of their set is what sets it apart from the kind of thing Beyoncé did when she herself was in a trio: while nobody is pretending that the wildly accomplished,coolly glorious En Vogue are the girls next door, they make a point of having fun. Their trademark black costumes froth with sequins, or the word “ass” jauntily reinstates “rest” in Free Your intellect and three male fans are summoned to the stage with orders to “give us a piece of your love”. “As a homosexual man,” one of them replies, “I’d say lets listen to some old-school grooves.” Ellis tells him: “It’s laughable that you said that …”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com