The set opened with the ten-piece band marching through Miles Davis' 'All Blues', Wonder himself taking up Davis' lead on his harmonica, even slipping in a brief snippet of 'London Bridge Is Falling Down'. The interpretation stated from the offset that Wonder was working with a finely tuned group.
The early stages of the set focused on album tracks, with a heavy quantity coming from the 1980 album Hotter Than July, an album which produced four UK top ten singles for Wonder and hit a high of number 2 on the album chart. Tracks such as 'As If You Read My Mind' and 'Did I Hear You Say You Love Me' whilst being not as well known as Wonder's biggest hits exampled the template of melodic and energetic music which drove forward the evening.
Higher Ground
Stevie and his band were fitted with talk boxes for one track, and the group took an extended jam featuring solos from all ten musicians. This experimentation contrasted to the recycled normalcy often found in established artist's performances.
'Higher Ground' and 'Master Blaster (Jammin')' were the only big hits of the first third, and provoked good responses from the crowd. Wonder switched between his piano and clavinet, still able to produce flawless music regardless what instrument he was playing. His energy and enthusiasm was key to the event, his joy at playing and performing becoming infectious, his interactions with the audience provoking sing-a-longs and in the case of his Cockney impressions, laughter.
Visions
Notable was the attention paid to the numerous album tracks throughout the evening. 'Visions' featured a deft guitar solo and a state of the world address from Wonder, underlining his support for Barack Obama in the forthcoming Presidential elections. Fans of Wonder's prodigous 70s output were not disappointed, as the middle of the set featured a high quantity of tracks from 1973's Innervisions - on which 'Visions' initially appeared - and took in the jazzy ballad 'Golden Lady' and the uptempo Latin number 'Don't You Worry 'Bout A Thing'.
Ballads were the dominant theme in the second third of the gig, which moved the focus more on to Wonder's legendary voice. 'Ribbon In The Sky' demonstrated his chops and brought the audience in to the equation, and 'Lately' displayed Stevie at his most tender and earnest.
Superstition
Audience participation was called upon again to bring in the opening hook to 'My Cherie Amour', which signalled the introduction of Wonder's biggest hits for the finale. The last half hour saw Wonder and his band fly through his biggest hits: 'Sir Duke', 'Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)', and 'I Wish' among them.
The crowd reached a peak, with Stevie and his band showing no signs of slowing down despite over two hours on stage. Most of the hits were shortened somewhat, in comparison to the album tracks, missing out a verse here and there, and effortlessly segueing in to one another.
The set finished with the expected high point of 'Superstition', still a crowd favourite thirty-six years after its release. Wonder was led off stage as the band played 'As', to the same standing ovation which had greeted him two-and-a-half hours earlier, and indicating that he had thoroughly satisfied his audience.
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