On Fox FM’s RnB Friday, Ginuwine challenged callers to name three of his songs, the reward being free tickets to his performance later that evening. One caller couldn’t even name one, claiming she was under pressure. A second named Pony (as though that was hard) then proceeded to pronounce Stingy with a hard ‘G’, clearly indicating she’d Googled “Ginuwine songs” and had never actually heard it. In an attempt to redeem Melbourne’s poor effort and also pay literary homage to the man who merged two alcoholic beverages to form his stage name, I will weave ten Ginuwine song titles into this review.
At the front of Ms. Collins I was literally So Anxious on account of the 50-metre plus line crawling down the Betta Half of Collins Street. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait (Hell Yeah) and were quickly able to enter an already crowded venue. The key Differences between club concerts and regular gigs are: 1. Heels. 2. An environment where people come to be seen, rather than enjoy themselves – neither of which are ideal when preparing for the best of ‘90s R&B. On My Way to the balcony I was squeezed Toe 2 Toe against people. Securing our place we waited three hours for the performance.
Sneaking in discreetly, the Sex icon and Superhuman Ginuwine was ushered to his VIP/bottle area. It wasn’t too long before he began his performance. Initially on his balcony, he danced above the bulk of the crowd making good use of the glass panes for grinding. Perhaps sensing the odd panoptic effect of the balcony situation, Ginuwine indicated to security he wanted to venture out to the people and Get Involved, proving he’s still the Same Ol’ G. Atop the bar, Ginuwine sang, danced, body rolled and took a selfie for his TGT bandmates, Tyrese Gibson and Tank. At the signature throbbing bass punches, the crowd went wild when he sang, “I’m just a bachelor…” Twenty years may have passed since his prime, but Ginuwine still has it.
BY TAMARA VOGL
Loved: Ginuwine’s dance moves.
Hated: The long wait.
Drank: Water. Water. Water.
