Mezzanine was packed to the rafters and beyond on Friday, September 7, 2007 when Keyshia Cole took the stage roundabout 11:30 PM. We had waited through 4 (!!!) opening acts, including superb diva-in-training Diesel and three excellent young male r&b acts who had uniformly strong tracks and songs (brilliant J. Holiday; hey bebe smoker Ray Lavender; livewire J. Valentine) and who each veered awfully close to male stripper territory. The crowd was pumped and ready when hometown (Oakland!) homegirl Keyshia Cole and her explosive band, two hard workin' backup singers and two crazy creative dancers finally arrived and set Mezzanine on fire.
Last time we saw Cole, at The Grand in San Francisco more than a year ago, she was still riding the wave of her debut CD, "The Way It Is," the best soul record of the past several years, and she came across as the ghetto girl next door with the powerhouse voice and female-friendly point of view. In 2007, she has morphed into an arena-ready big time performer, armed with the voice, moves and adorable personality that will no doubt charm and disarm hordes of new fans once her new record, "Just Like You," drops September 25. She did one of her new songs, "Got My Heart Back," and it proved as sturdy and unforgettable as all the songs on her first record are. She did a medley of covers which included "I'm Goin' Down" (is that now mandatory for up and coming soul sisgters to perform?), but otherwise she stuck to her first album songbook and astonished and amazed her audience with a thrilling performance. Yes, she can sing her ass off, yes, she has strong stories to tell about young romance, and yes, she has become even prettier than when she first emerged. But now she is thoroughly professional, totally ready to take over the throne of hip hop queen. We got our heart back when Keyshia Cole returned to the scene.
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