Smokey Robinson, 4/10/2013, Mahaffey Theater (photo: Donald Gibson) |
At 73 Robinson still exudes a singular passion and, with his falsetto in fine form this past Wednesday night in St. Petersburg, he seduced a sold-out Mahaffey Theater audience for two solid hours.
After opening with a trio of expected but nonetheless exhilarating oldies—“Going to a Go-Go,” “I Second That Emotion,” “You Really Got A Hold On Me”—Robinson led his nine-piece band into “Quiet Storm,” establishing the mood of the music to come.
Indeed it was a feast for love-song lovers, “grown-folks’” music it’s sometimes called, and Robinson obliged with highlights (“Being With You,” “Ooo Baby Baby,” “The Tracks of My Tears”) from virtually every phase of his career.