Washington D.C., native Kenny Lattimore, made a welcome return to the DMV on Sunday, January 15th, when he performed at The Birchmere music hall in Alexandria, Virginia. For his first live show of 2023, Mr. Lattimore graced the stage in a distinguished black two-piece suit entertaining the crowd for seventy minutes. Kenny kicked off his set with three up-tempo numbers, which gave him a chance to showcase his dancing skills.
I tip my hat to Lattimore for keeping things mature and catering to his core fan base. In addition, Lattimore was perfectly in sync with his band and background singers. Lattimore then made his way to his first album with a performance of "Never Too Busy," which included an interpolation of the DeBarge classic "I Like It."
A Kenny Lattimore show isn't complete without some balladry. To set things off, Lattimore reached deep into the archives. First was the Diane Warren penned "If You Could See You Through My Eyes" from his sophomore album. Lattimore's background singers filled in for the original duet partners on "Love Will Find a Way" from The Lion King II soundtrack and his cover of "You Don't Have To Cry."
Keeping with the spirit of covers, Lattimore showed off his immense vocal range with a dabble in the American songbook before paying tribute to the late great Jesse Belvin, Donny Hathaway, and Phyllis Hyman. Lattimore ended the cover portion of his show with his well-received take on Norman Connors's "You Are My Starship."
Kenny threw some Go-Go in the mix as the night began to wind down. For his performance of "Climb The Mountain, Chocolate City Legend, Go-Go drummer Smitty brought the house down on the drums. Following well-received performances of "Only Girl" and "Take A Dose" from his latest album, 2022's, Here To Stay. Mr. Lattimore closed his set with a lush performance of his signature song, "For You," before delivering an encore of "Love Me Back," a personal favorite.
If memory serves, this was my fourth time seeing Mr. Lattimore, and he always delivers a solid performance. My only gripe with the show is that "Look Of Love," "Forever," and "Beautiful Girl" wasn't on the setlist. Nevertheless, Kenny can always count on my support anytime he's in the DMV.
Final Grade: A –