Nelly, Auckland NZ, 2016

Nelly

29th November 2016
Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Megan Moss.

Watching the vibrant crowd file into Vector Arena, dressed in clubbing outfits and plasters on the left side of their faces, anticipation is high for what is sure to be an outstanding night of R&B classics spanning over the last 16 years.

As the numbers inside the arena swell – they are quickly whipped into a frenzy by the young but already well established DJ Horizon. At only 19 DJ Horizon, who hails from Melbourne, spun an impressive and well blended collection of old school tracks which soon had the crowd warmed up and ready for the first support act of the night. Blu Cantrell who rose to fame in 2001, strode out onto the rather minimal stage in a dazzling sequin dress and quirky black top hat. With only a single microphone stand in front of her she wasted no time swinging straight into her hit single ‘Hit Em Up Style” which soon had the crowd dancing. Unfortunately her set was also notably short, with only a couple of tracks being delivered.

A short break and the chants for Blackstreet soon began to rise from the barriers. The boys responded by bouncing out onto the stage in matching black leather pants and sequin jackets, the crowd greeting them with unbridled enthusiasm. Hailing from New York – the R&B group who formed in 1991, were professional and polished announcing to the crowd “Auckland this is dedicated to the ladies” before kicking straight into their 1996 hit ‘Don’t Leave Me’ from the album Another Level. Choreographed dance moves and 90’s styled outfits aside, these boys can sing, and often flexed their vocal muscles during some impressive acapella breaks. Roses were handed out by the four members to very eager ladies in the first few rows during the track ‘ Before I Let You Go’ which included an impromptu trip up into the stands by a member of the group (much to the delight of the fans) “Do you want to hear some grammy shit”? the call went out – before Blackstreet delivered their grammy nominated 1996 hit ‘No Diggity’. These boys had certainly conquered the Auckland audience and left the stage amid deafening cheers.

The crowd were primed and ready for the arrival of Nelly.

As the supporting DJ took the podium, Rihanna’s hit ‘Work’ blasted the crowd. Out stepped Nelly’s hype man, followed closely by Nelly himself donned in sunnies, cap and a Derrty Ent. t-shirt and of course the obligatory gold chain. Opening with the crowd pleaser ‘EI’ from his 2000 Country Grammar album, Nelly was accompanied by raucous fan chanting to the chorus. What followed was a blistering hour long set, with the pace barely ever being let up by the 42yr old Texan singer who has delivered fans seven albums worth of material over the last 16 years. ‘Air Force Ones’ from the 2002 Nellyville album was quickly followed up by the very contagious ‘Country Grammar’ which provided Nelly one of his first opportunities of the night to show off his impressive rap skills.

A crowd play off of which side of the venue could sing the lyrics the loudest was a nice little interlude and gave the crowd a chance to rest their feet. All too soon we were into the run of the big hits; ‘Ride Wit Me’ another crowd favourite from the Country Grammar album was followed up with the more recent 2013 hit ‘Hey Porsche’. The stage was then lit with a stunning array of gold lighting as the opening notes of this years Cash Cash & Digital Farm Animals hit ‘Millionaire’ rang out – a track that was very well received by the now absolutely pulsating and predominantly female crowd. A few quick samples (including the epic 2013 trap hit ‘Turn Down for What’) and the stage was suddenly shrouded in red; the crowd knew what was about to drop – the one track that each and every person was dying to hear… And Nelly did not disappoint – ‘Hot in Herre’ from the 2002 Nellyville album absolutely brought the roof down, with the crowd led chorus easily drowning out the singer himself (much to the genuine delight on his face).

Nelly wasn’t quite done just yet, as by this point he had the fans eating out of his hand, so he kicked straight into ‘Dilemma’, encouraging all of the ladies in the audience to sing Kelly Rowland’s part, a request that didn’t need to be made twice judging by the chorus of voices. After a final thank you to the audience for allowing him to “play in their house” – Nelly broke into the 2010 hit Just a Dream complete with full “hands in the air” audience participation. And as he left the stage, removing and tossing his cap into the audience, the crowd saluted one of the 00’s R&B biggest hitters with well deserved applause.