Tamar Braxton
Fillmore Miami Beach
Friday, May 16, 2014
Better Than: Watching an episode of Tamar & Vince.
"People don't know I can get turnt up and drop it like it's hot."
That's the kind of performance the youngest of the Braxton sisters promised to put on for her Tamartians at this past weekend's kickoff of her debut solo headlining tour.
And after watching her do that ass-shaking, voice-singing thang at the Fillmore Miami Beach, we can say that girl wasn't lying.
See also: Tamar Braxton on Her First Solo Tour: "People Don't Know I Can Drop It Like It's Hot"
Like any true diva, the singer kept her fans waiting ... A total of 45 minutes to be exact. And during that time, DJ Bulletproof got the mid-sized audience's party juices flowing.
"Don't be afraid to show your age," the DJ yelled to the crowd. "We got some beautiful ladies in here tonight. Let me see you throw your hands in the air!"
As the 103.5 The Beat DJ played a mash up of Bell Biv DeVoe's "Poison" and Prince's "Kiss," among other R&B and hip-hop classics, women in leopard leggings and zebra-print wedges started dancing.
Ladies in skintight black dresses and stilettos got outta their seats and busted a few moves. There was even a couple grinding up on one another to Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat" as if hundreds weren't watching. Yeah, these Tarmatians were here to party.
"I think it's cool what she's doing, stepping out of her sister's shadow," said one fan who was out with her girls for ladies' night.
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After some more hype from Bulletproof, it was finally time to let Braxton shine.
"Tamarrrrrr!" yelled one overly excited Tamartian as the lights dimmed.
The bass dropped to "She Did That." The velvet curtains opened and revealed a pair of perfectly toned male dancers in black leather outfits dancing atop two gray podiums. In the center was a rotating screen playing clips from Tamar & Vince.
As the dancers moved around in finely choreographed fashion, the screen kept on spinning till the woman of the hour was revealed, cueing the audience to scream at the top of their lungs.
As she sang "The One," these fanatics practically cried.
"What's up Miami Tamartian fans?" Braxton shouted before doing a "Single Ladies"-esque dance with her female dancers to "Tip Toe."
"It took me a long time to get out here," she said. "Now, we don't want no pieces 'cause ain't nobody got time for that."
Appropriately enough, the singer showed off her pipes for "Pieces," during which she really dropped it like it was hot with all of those "ohhs" and "ahhs."
For the next few songs, Tamar sang and spoke for the audience from a black stool, which made her performance seem more like a talk show than an actual concert.
"She's parched," the singer joked as she chugged a bottle of water. "For real! Welcome to the Love and War Tour! Finally!
"I don't know if you guys know everything about me or not," she toyed. "But I do this little show with my husband, and I wanna talk good things about my Teddy Ruxpin.
"When I first met him, I was like, 'I don't want no man'," she recalled. "But he always makes me feel like ..."
"A princess!" the crowd responded. And Tamar went on to sing the song.
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The singer practically talk-show hosted the rest of her concert, telling stories about her and hubby in between songs, smacking her lips, and interacting with the crowd.
During a dance break that doubled as a wardrobe change, two hunky male dancers busted some krump, breakdance, and freestyle moves, and even grabbed two lucky ladies from the audience to get up there and dance with them.
Tamar then made her way back to the stage, this time wearing a sparkling blue outfit. She sang "1 On 1," popped her booty in the air, and got all sensual on the floor.
"Ladies and gents, that's how you get 'em," she said. "Keeping 'em is a different story."
Shockingly, her next song was "Hot Sugar," which is about, well, "keeping him."
Before performing her last number of the night, Tamar spoke to the audience for a good 20 minutes.
"I wanna say something really fast," she went on. "About six, seven months ago, I played at this very stage with John Legend and I can't tell you how amazing it is to be here all by myself, and even more to see this room filled with my Tamartian fans. Let me see them lights on the crowd."
The lights shone on her number-one admirers. And then Tamar offered some more words of encouragement.
"A real Tamartian is beautiful, ambitious, fabulous," the singer insisted. "A Tamartian don't give up."
With that being said, her hubby made an onstage cameo, and then it was off to "Love and War," but not before a few more words, of course.
"Y'all have made my dreams come true! So tonight, Imma make your dreams come true!" And like that, she handpicked two of her greatest fans, Melissa and David, to get up on stage and sing the hit single with her.
After what was one of the most entertaining performances of the night, Tamar gave her parting words, "Thank you so much."
Now the night was definitely more about Tamar than the music. (There was no live band, DJ, or even background vocals, everything except for Tamar's voice was pre-recorded.) So really, the youngest of the Braxton clan proved to be more of a talented entertainer than a musician.
But yes, she sure turnt up.
Critic's Notebook
Tamar Braxton's Setlist
-"She Did That"/"The One"
-"Tip Toe"
-"Pieces"
-"Watching Me"
-"Princess"
-"White Candle"
-"Stay & Fight"
-"Where It Hurts"
-"Sound of Love"
-"1 On 1"
-"Hot Sugar"
-"All the Way Home"
-"Love & War"
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