Eeview by: Val Tapia
Photos by: Kate Frese
A 12,000-strong crowd packed the Mortgage Matchup Center in downtown Phoenix for the first of three co-headline tours playing the venue this week. On Tue. Aug 11 there was an abundance of classic soul, funk and pop catalog delivery from two of popular music’s most enduring artists of the last five decades.
The exceptional turnout transformed the arena into a pulsating space, with many attendees actively engaging with the rhythmic execution from the first downbeat.
Crucially, the entire production was anchored by an admirable level of professional discipline that should serve as a non-negotiable benchmark across the entire live entertainment industry.
Rather than subjecting paying ticket holders to the standard delays that frequently plague contemporary arena tours, both Lionel Richie and Earth Wind & Fire treated their stage times as strict obligations.
Speaking of the latter, Earth Wind & Fire struck their first chord at 7:30 p.m. sharp, delivering a 13-song, 60-minute set that was a masterclass in brass precision and dense polyrhythms.
Rightly or wrongly, the overarching philosophy governing both artists’ sets left no room for obscure material or deep cut experimentation. This was a tour explicitly engineered for the masses, and neither act made any apologies for leaning primarily into their multi-platinum commercial peaks.
Earth Wind & Fire’s set moved with calculated precision, sending tracks like Serpentine Fire, Let’s Groove and ‘Sing a Song’ down to predictable, roaring crowd approval. The definitive high point belonged to a thunderous performance of Boogie Wonderland, which locked the audience into a singular, high-octane dance groove.
Following a 30-minute intermission, Lionel Richie took the stage at 9:00 p.m. sharp to perform his seasoned solo hits and a few tracks from The Commodores. Again, this absolute punctuality respected the audience’s time and financial investment, allowing the evening to progress with fluid momentum.
However, Richie’s performance immediately introduced a highly unconventional pacing strategy that challenged standard arena conventions. In a departure from typical arena pop architecture– which almost universally dictates a fast tempo, bombastic opening track– Richie opted to commence his set with a down-tempo ballad.
Structurally, the choice made literal sense given the song title, Hello (from 1983’s Can’t Slow Down), serving as a cheeky, direct greeting to the Phoenix crowd. Yet, starting a headlining set with an emotionally heavy ballad remains a rarity in major live productions, risking an immediate dip in the room’s hard-earned momentum.
To be fair though, Richie is arguably known for ballads more than he is mid-tempo or fast songs. Still, he found a decent balance overall with songs like Runnin’ With The Night, Stuck On You and The Commodores’ Lady (You Bring Me Up). All of which went down a storm Tuesday night.
Perhaps the emotional centerpiece of the set was when he did a “duet” of the Richie-penned Lady, written for the late Kenny Rogers (who appeared via vintage video clips and who’s voice was “in sync” with Richie’s).
But the night’s most glaring omission was a massive missed opportunity of collaboration. During Richie’s raucous version of Brick House, the stage practically begged for cross-pollination. In short order, the decision not to feature members of Earth Wind & Fire– particularly their exceptional horn section– joining Richie onstage for that song was a baffling production oversight.
An onstage collaboration of that caliber would’ve been an insane, historic moment for the audience. Instead, by keeping both sets strictly separate, the tour prioritized a safe, parallel hit factory over what could’ve been a great musical crossover.
The final verdict? Four out of five stars.
