As part of a ‘Made In the 90’s’ sideshow, R&B singer, rapper and actor Marques Houston played at Metro City, Northbridge for R&B Superstar. Coming to us straight from Los Angeles, California, his first ever Australian show was alongside DJ Rampage.
Unfortunately though, the long wait for the club show saw the crowd becoming tired and irritated. People that were actively dancing throughout the night had gone to find a seat or were just standing around, restlessly. This left a sense of aggression in the air which kept the bouncers busy. The atmosphere was noticeably dimmer and it was evident that the star of the show had missed the prime time for a great performance.
Finally, at just gone 1am the DJ announced that everyone had to make some noise for Marques Houston. There was an abysmal cheer, and the DJ announced, “You gonna have to do better than that!” It was a good effort for an audience that had been waiting three or four hours.
Dressed in a black jacket, jeans and a red cap, Marques Houston came to the stage singing “Pop That Booty”. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties which involved a backing CD that continued to skip, Marques performed the song twice before inviting ladies from the crowd onto the stage, whilst his DJ attempted to fix the problem. He also gave them the chance to have their own moment and dance, as he’d only been on stage for five minutes. His fans wanted to hear him sing - not watch the girls they were just standing next to.
The set list continued with “Favorite Girl”, which drew a big cheer from the crowd. At one point there was loud feedback from the microphone and this ineptly happened several times again. The next song was “Pullin’ On Her Hair”. Vocally, Marques Houston is undeniably a great singer. It was unfortunate that he didn’t really demonstrate this with any of the songs he performed, nor did he show off any of his dancing.
The next song was “Swag Sex” (from his new album Mattress Music) however he did not finish the entire number. After announcing he wanted everyone’s attention before he “got outta here”, he sang “Clubbin’”. As if we didn’t get the memo that the show was already over, the jacket he previously had taken off was put back on. Bizarrely, he only pulled up one of the sleeves leaving the rest of the jacket just hanging from his right arm and he performed his last song in literally, an awkward fashion. As a former member of Immature/IMX, with five solo albums not to mention feature films and TV shows under his belt, this was very disappointing.
In total, Marques Houston played approximately four and a half songs and his entire set lasted about 25 minutes, leaving many attendees disappointed that many of his classic tunes were never performed. With the technical difficulties, an accapella performance of his slower tunes like "Sex With You" and "Closer" would have at least left the crowd more satisfied.
At the end of the show Marques took some time to pose for photos with fans. He was friendly and welcoming to say the least. True fans probably won’t be discouraged by this mediocre performance, however if Marques Houston doesn’t pick up his game for the rest of the tour and fix the technical issues that proved hazardous on Friday night, he’ll have Australia wishing he just stayed in the 90s.
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