I Love the 90’s
Marymoor Park, Redmond, WA
08.27.16
Are one-shouldered-overalls the next big thing? Chokers may have been the 90s-accessory comeback of the year, but the decade’s fashion game made a strong argument for irony amongst the crowd at the inaugural “I Love The 90s” tour. Bold gold chains, airbrushed tees, and the brightest neon lit up the sold out lawn of Redmond’s Marymoor Park for a night that – according to its website – “doubles as an arena-sized dance party.”
Clearly the crowd was primed for that dance party, as limousines and party buses littered the parking lot, and they sure didn’t wait to start getting down. A DJ spun all the nostalgic radio hits you could ask for before a solid lineup of acts graced the stage, each delivering a short set, with little time turning over the stage in between, meaning this party just never quit.
The night kicked off with the back-to-back old school acts of Young MC and Tone-Lōc, delivering “Bust A Move,” “Funky Cold Medina,” and yep, you guessed it, “Wild Thing,” for which plenty of VIP crowd members were brought out to dance along. But artists didn’t stick to their own tracks either, they gave tastes of other 90s hits throughout the night, covering “Gin and Juice” and “Rapper’s Delight” among plenty of others. Coolio, complete with a live band, rounded out the opening of the show, and it doesn’t matter what other songs he played, it was clear by the disappointed mix of moans and screaming from women in the ridiculously long bathroom line that everyone was there to hear “Gangsta’s Paradise.”
Color Me Badd was up next, bringing us into the R&B portion of the night with “All 4 Love” and “I Adore Mi Amor,” during which they passed out roses to the ladies. A cover of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity” was then followed by CMB’s “I Wanna Sex You Up.” By this point of the night, the crowd was singing – screaming – along to every word, dancing their asses off, recording every minute for posterity. But All-4-One brought the house down with the one-two-punch of “I Can Love You Like That” and “I Swear.” Still the original lineup, the quartet even went a capella, showing off their classic harmonies on “So Much in Love,” before announcing “Let’s do songs that define the 90s,” and covering Boyz II Men’s “Motownphilly” and Bell Biv DeVoe’s classic “Poison.”
Rob Base pumped up the crowd with “Joy and Pain,” and “It Takes Two,” making for a deserved ovation from the audience. A medley of other samplings, despite what appeared to be some technical difficulties, rounded out his set.
But then there was Salt-N-Pepa, accompanied by their longtime DJ Spinderella, who were clearly the biggest draw of the night. With 30 years of making music together under their belt, the duo knew what they were doing, and they worked the crowd well. They had two male dancers on stage with them, and they opened with “Shake Your Thang (It’s Your Thing)” and the crowd did exactly that, then they covered Biz Markie’s “Just A Friend” barely having to sing, as the crowd was going crazy shouting along. They played all their big hits and had tremendous energy, with about an hour on stage as the headliner, leaving no audience member disappointed.
Originally booked for only 29 dates, this unsurprisingly popular tour and its rotating lineup of throwback all-stars just keeps on adding dates, so don’t miss out on this stellar party.
Find a show HERE.
Review and photos by Stephanie Dore
I Love the 90’s
