Concert Reviews

Videos, pole dancers, breakdancers, flame twirlers, and fireworks just added to the spectacle as Usher and Brown won over the Gillette crowd.

Usher and Chris Brown, with Tank, Mario, and Eric Bellinger, at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Monday, Aug. 18.

Based on the videos that regaled the Gillette Stadium crowd, Monday night’s Usher and Chris Brown concert was a tale of two nightclubs.

On one side of town, there was “Raymond’s,” a fancy establishment where patrons wore dark suits, fancy dresses, and sipped glasses of chilled wine while listening to tunes from a grand piano. Usher Raymond was dressed splendidly, wearing a sparkling pinstripe suit.

The party went on smoothly until Usher recalled the pain of a past heartbreak. As he moved, his buttoned-up look became a frazzled one. He was spilling liquid from what looked like a liquor bottle. He lit a cigarette, took a drag, then tossed it into the liquid, setting the fictional club ablaze and destroying it — a fitting intro to his hit “Let it Burn.”

Then, there was Brown’s. The place looked cool from the outside with its flashing lights, but the audience never got to see the interior because the video showed Chris Brown getting attacked by a jealous rival before he even stepped foot inside. He was eyeing a pretty girl sitting on a car, and while he was trying to get her attention a much larger man looked out of a window and snarled, starting a street fight.

Brown used his speed and agility to his advantage, tiring out the big man before landing a knockout blow. But, instead of riding off into the sunset, the IRL Brown rolled onto the stage on the hood of a car, exhausted from fighting yet another demon.

The videos and the way they transitioned into the live performances were all part of a magnificent show that leaned into the personalities of its two stars. There was a video of Brown, the self-proclaimed “country boy from Tappahannock,” downloading bits and pieces of his musical idols until he reaches his current form: a sprinkle of Marvin Gaye’s singing ability, a dash of Michael Jackson doing the moonwalk, and a pinch of Prince’s swagger.

Meanwhile, Raymond threw fistfuls of Ushbucks from the stage, rocked his signature “U chain,” and fed a select few female crowd members cherries from a jar that was being passed around.

The theme of the intro video was of two worlds colliding, and for one night at Gillette Stadium, that happened. Either one would have been worth the price of admission alone. Together, they created something memorable.

It wasn’t perfect. There was a lengthy delay towards the beginning of the three-hour show that went unexplained. Raymond and Brown were on stage doing their thing, until all of a sudden they weren’t.

The DJ started spinning songs to kill time. Raymond addressed it during the later part of his set, saying that he knew the show got off to a rough start, but also promising that it would be something special.

By then, there were tens of thousands of people singing along to old classics. From “Yo, Excuse Me Miss,” “Run It,” and “Take You Down” to “Confessions,” “My Way,” and “Caught Up,” both performers were able to conjure plenty of nostalgia for fans. They closed the show together with their 2014 hit “New Flame.”

There weren’t many instances when they were on stage together, which makes sense given their respective catalogues. The show was split into acts and they alternated sets, which made it feel like two separate concerts that happened to be going on at the same place rather than a joint performance. But, it was still spectacular.

There were pole dancers, breakdancers, flame twirlers, and copious amounts of fireworks. At one point, Brown was suspended from a cable floating around Gillette Stadium, landing in various spots in the stands to perform amongst the people. Early on in the show, Raymond marched from the “B” stage to the “Main Stage,” allowing fans with floor seats to get an up-close glimpse of him.

There were also three special guests: Tank, Mario, and Eric Bellinger. The crowd belted Mario’s “Let Me Love You” word for word.

There were also some subtle fashion choices that were New England-specific nods. Usher closed out the show wearing a Berklee College of Music sweatshirt, and Brown wore a Red Sox hat during several of his songs.

It was a long show, around three hours. Raymond and Brown took the stage around 8:45 and closed out just before midnight. Both artists did multiple sets. They brought energy, enthusiasm, and precision the entire time.

It was two very different shows for the price of one, and the technical difficulties couldn’t stop it from being a good time.

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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