A Wonderful Night at the Garden

Stevie Wonder brought his unique brand of Detroit funk-tinged soul to Madison Square Garden Saturday night for the first time in over a decade, as part of his “A Wonder Autumn Night” tour. The 57-year-old Motown legend was escorted to the stage by his daughter, Aisha Morris—famously known as the giggling baby on “Isn’t She Lovely”—to a rousing five-minute standing ovation. “New York!” Wonder said enthusiastically as he walked out on stage. “Just like I pictured it!”

The 25-time Grammy Award-winning artist has been blind since infancy, and his comment garnered a chorus of laughter from the crowd. New York City seemed to be the overbearing theme of the evening—later in the show, Wonder discussed writing hits such as “Superstition” and “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” here.

Yet the tone soon became more somber as Wonder led the crowd in a moment of silence to remember the victims of Sept. 11, 2001—it was Wonder’s first time playing in the legendary arena since that day. He also discussed his mother’s death, which prompted him to go out on the road for his first full-fledged tour in 12 years.

“Music is my mantra,” Wonder said of his decision to undertake this tour. “It is a way to heal me, to help me get through what I am going through. Thanks for supporting my music. It gave my mother a far better life than she would have had otherwise.”
Although he had daunting expectations to live up to, Wonder certainly didn’t disappoint the crowd. Early on, he enthralled the audience with flawless recreations of his biggest hits, including “Livin’ For the City,” “Too High,” and “Visions.”

Wonder didn’t neglect his legendary political sentiment, first displayed publicly when he covered Bob Dylan’s “Blowin’ in the Wind” at age 15. During “Visions,” he criticized the current state of the world in an extended improvised vocal segment in which he said, “Here we are in 2007, and we’re still practicing the same bad habits we practiced centuries and millenniums ago. It’s unacceptable.”

Wonder spoke to the audience throughout the show, which at points detracted from the flow of the music. It was worth it, however, to see the artist enjoying himself so immensely.

Wonder culled heavily from his classic mid-70s albums Innervisions and Songs in the Key of Life, yet also paid tribute to his earlier hits, like “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” and “For Once in My Life.” After the former, Wonder jokingly said, “I believe that this song still has some life in it. I think it could be a country hit!” The R&B legend then proceeded to run through two countrified choruses of his classic hit, much to the amusement of his audience.

In the middle of “For Once in My Life,” Wonder brought out vocal legend Tony Bennett, and the pair reprised the duet version of the song which they performed together on Bennett’s 2006 album Duets: An American Classic. During the show, the multi-instrumentalist played upward of 15 chart-topping hits, including an hour-long barrage at the end which included “Don’t You Worry ’Bout a Thing,” “Signed, Sealed, Delivered,” “My Cherie Amour,” “Boogie On Reggae Woman,” “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” “Superstition,” and “As.”

The songs were played with an unparalleled sense of passion and showmanship. “Boogie On Reggae Woman” featured an extended harmonic solo which brought the sold-out crowd to its feet. Wonder even brought out legendary R&B artist Prince for Wonder’s trademark 1972 hit, “Superstition.”

Though Wonder brought the show to a close without an encore, nobody seemed to leave the world’s most famous arena disappointed. Seventh Avenue was abuzz after the show, with street musicians playing “Sir Duke” and concertgoers spontaneously breaking out into verses of “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” New York can only hope it’s not another 12 years before Wonder returns—it’s a rare concert that gets the city this excited.