MONDAY, JUNE 1
STEVIE WONDER: LIVE AT LAST
PBS, 8pm et/pt (check local listings)
By Kevin Downey
Sometimes when the world seems gloomy and dark, a television show can come along that brightens our day and lifts our mood.
Tonight, if you can find it, Stevie Wonder: Live at Last will do the trick.
This bouncy, upbeat special is a collection of songs Wonder performed live in concert last year in London’s O2 Arena. The place was packed and the crowd was primed for classic R&B – and Wonder delivered, and then some.
The concert starts out a little slow, as they sometimes do, but that doesn’t last but a minute.
Wonder sits down at the piano – backed by a huge band with horns and sashaying backup singers – and pounds out one hit after another, including too many to remember. But all the classics are there, like “My Cherie Amour” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”
He also puts his spin on songs that other artists made famous, including most memorably “People Make the World Go Round.”
Live at Last is airing on PBS’s Great Performances throughout the month – check listings at pbs.org.
It’s also now available on DVD.
The show is tightly produced. The stage is enormous, the lights flashy and bright. The backup singers and musicians are topnotch. And Wonder is an old pro, and it shows. He knows how to get the crowd on its feet. His voice is in fine shape.
Live at Last is a fun, upbeat and happy escape from everyday life – it’s an escape well worth taking.
Video Clips: pbs.org/wnet/gperf/episodes/stevie-wonder-live-at-last/preview-of-stevie-wonder-live-at-last/781/
Content: Appropriate for all ages
