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I’ve seen Maxwell in concert twice before. This was my first time going to a concert of his solo. I’ll have to admit, not having a date/guest for the show was a little different from the times before. The next time I go, I’ll have to try a little harder to get a female companion to go with me.

Ever since the release of his album “Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite” in 1996, I’ve been a fan. When it comes to male soul singers, Maxwell is up there on the top of my list. There aren’t many male vocalists who have the kind of command over their falsetto like Maxwell. As a former musician, I appreciate the talent.

His live performances have always lived up his albums. If you have any doubt of the quality of vocal ability, just purchase his “MTV Unplugged” album. His cover of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” is prima facie evidence of his ability.

The women at the Staples Center that evening were ready for Maxwell and the sexiness he was about to unleash. His live show even got a little bawdy when he asked the women whether their “juices” were flowing yet. After singing songs like “Fire We Make”, “Fortunate”, “Lifetime” and his other radio hits, I kinda figured the answers were, “yes”.

My only criticism of the show had to do with the audience. Rule number one of concert-going is that you never leave until the house lights go up. I don’t care if you’re concerned about the traffic or if there’s a bar you want to hit up … if you have tickets for a show, why leave early? Odds are, you’re going to miss something that you wanted to see/hear.

Earlier in the evening, I heard a woman preach to her friend that she wanted to hear “Pretty Wings” performed “soooo bad”. Maxwell finished the main part of his set, before coming back on stage for an encore. By that time, I had noticed that the woman had already left (as did a fairly large chunk of the crowd). Maxwell didn’t perform “Pretty Wings” for his first encore (he performed “Ascension”), but he was back on stage for a second encore, and he performed “Pretty Wings” to close the night out. Literally a third of the audience had left in between encores, which is a shame, because Maxwell killed it.

I didn’t feel sorry for the young lady who left the show early. It just goes to show that you never leave a concert until the house lights go up. Her loss.

I wasn’t able to find a setlist online, but you can CLICK THIS LINK to get directed to a collection of Instagram Videos with snippets of most, if not all, of the songs that were performed at this concert.

I wasn’t approved for a photo pass for this performance, so I was only armed with my trusty, pocket-sized point and shoot camera. Not the best, but not to shabby sitting several hundred fee away if you ask me.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE OTHER PERFORMANCES THAT I CAUGHT DURING THE BET EXPERIENCE AT L.A. LIVE