Music
Steamy DeVaughn on a Sultry Night
Soulful singer Raheem DeVaughn asked the crowd to "pass the love along" in his red-hot Merriweather concert.
(Jive Records -- Sony)
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They should have handed out towels and tumblers of iced tea at Raheem DeVaughn's Sunday concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
Sure, it felt hot because of the heavy humidity, but it was DeVaughn who was making the audience sweat. The seductive singer performed 14 smoldering songs that seemed like a 100-minute slow grind. (Imagine that ending of Prince's "The Beautiful Ones," where the Purple One is climaxing with screams of "Do you want me? Baby, baby, baby!" stretched to nearly two hours.)
DeVaughn is a graduate of Beltsville's High Point High School, so this was a homecoming of sorts, with the singer repeatedly giving shout-outs to Virginia, Prince George's County and Chocolate City. It's also the first time DeVaughn has been out on the road as a headliner, so he told the audience, "Since we have a little more time tonight, we're gonna take our time -- and make love to you tonight."
From the start of the show, which began with "Friday (Shut the Club Down)" from his recent album "Love Behind the Melody" -- and included a brief interpolation of the Temptations' "My Girl" -- DeVaughn held the largely female audience in a passionate embrace. And when he closed the night with Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On," it felt as if everyone should light a cigarette.
In the middle, the tireless DeVaughn worked the crowd like a Motown-fueled love guru, paying tribute to the ladies with "Woman," which found him running all the way to the lawn seats to seduce the crowd, and telling the audience during "Ask Yourself" to reach back and touch the hand of the person behind you in order to "pass the love along." A lot of sweaty palms were gladly slapped.
