Well, I arrived in Houston on Thursday...excited about finally getting to see Eric perform a FULL show... After seeing him at several promotional shows...I was more than ready to hear and see him a little longer. So again, A FULL SHOW...YAY!!!

Well, we got to the venue around 7:30 pm. And there was a huge line. They were running behind and hadn't opened the doors to let people in yet. Troylynn and I went over to box office to pick up the press passes because I was the "roving reporter" winner for the evening. Yay!! But, the box office hadn't received Eric's list yet. So Troylynn, Gab and I waited off to the side. While waiting, Patrice arrived. And then Leatha and Sonya arrived a little bit later. Troylynn texted Sharon to see if she had made it to the venue. So while we all waited for the doors to open, we stood around and chit-chatted.

Kevin Sucher came over and let us know that the box office had the information. We went over and picked up the passes. They started letting people in around 8 pm. We get in and got to our seats. The Arena is an intimate place with the stage set-up in the round. So that means that the stage moves in a very slow circular motion the whole time during the performance. As you all know Dwele opened the show. He did his thing. Near the end, he came out to the audience and sang danced with people including Ms. Gabriell!! So Dwele finished his set and we started getting excited because Eric was next.

Eric’s band came on and after making their adjustments to the equipment, “Spiritual Thang” started to play. We’re up and dancing. Eric comes onto the stage and he’s wearing a white t-shirt with a black vest and a black jacket over it. He has on jeans and tennis shoes. He also has a white print scarf wrapped around his neck. He’s looking good in his comfortably casual gear. He then sings “Femininity”. Loved it!! On “When You Think of Me” he tells us that the situation is funny now but it wasn‘t funny when it was happening. Next up is “Chocolate Legs”. Whew! Um um um. “Spanish Fly” came on and I absolutely love that groove. A lot of people like the slower original version, but I really like the faster ‘remix’ version. It just makes your body move. On this song, Eric came over and took Patrice’s hand. He then took Troylynn’s hand and danced and twirled her around. Also, during the part of the song where he says “let’s take off our clothes then let’s take it nice and slow let’s just stare at each other a while”, Eric opens Gab’s jacket. And Gab gives him this expression like “What?! Come on!” Hilarious! Eric then sings “Love of My Own”. What can I say? Excellent! I think the last time I heard that song performed was back in the “Essence” days. He really does a good job on it. The free-flowing at that end is great. He makes you feel and believe every word of that song. “Don’t Let Go” comes on and during the “breakdown” Wes added this extra beat onto the drums. Very nice! “Spend my Life” is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Eric and Kimmie (background singer) are fantastic! Their chemistry is perfect. Eric then performs “Pretty Baby” and the audience loved it. “I Wanna Be Loved” got the biggest reaction and the claps continued long after the song ended. “The Hunger” was AWESOME. That song is my jam! My hair was thoroughly sweated out at this point. LOL! People were really feeling “You’re the Only One”. Response-wise, it came in a close second. Of course Eric ended the show with “Georgy Porgy” and the whole place is up and dancing. Sonya and I got our hands held during this song. It was a wonderful night. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

After the show, Eric went to take pictures out in the lobby area. During that time we all waited and chatted with Kevin. After Eric was finished, Kevin took us backstage. After Eric took pictures with the radio personalities, we were brought into the room. We presented Eric a card and his birthday gift from the TEBF’s. He really liked it y’all. He was like “Wow!" I then got to ask my questions. And then we took a group TEBF picture.

Eric is always so accommodating and appreciative. Even though he was tired as hell, he still took out some time to spend with us. He doesn’t have to take the time out, but he does. And that’s why I love him. He will ALWAYS have my support. (whether I get extra time with him or not)

Again, it was a wonderful musical experience.