http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/10/arts/music/usher-shows-superhuman-precision-at-madison-square-garden.html 2014-11-09 19:14:49 Usher Shows Superhuman Precision at Madison Square Garden Usher’s latest tour stopped by Madison Square Garden, where he mixed beloved oldies with singles from his delayed album “UR.” === Video close-ups showed the sweat pouring down Usher’s face just a few songs after he started his set at Madison Square Garden on Friday. And no wonder. From the moment he hit the stage, he had been dancing nonstop: up on his toes, doing tight little twirls, strutting, pointing, making quick stop-start hand gestures, snaking his body from head to foot and matching the angled poses of his dancers, much of it while singing or rapping. It was a show of superhuman precision, control and stamina, of hitting his marks on a heavily trafficked stage, and he was The production poured on everything: dance troupe, horn section, band, singers, D.J., futuristic video backdrops, pyrotechnics. An arenafull of screams greeted every new thrill and every familiar song. Over the last two decades, Usher has single-mindedly devoted his songwriting to lust and romance, exploring every juncture from the first glance to what follows the last breakup. He has established himself as one of R&B;’s supreme performers and craftsmen, following through on what he learned from Michael Jackson in particular: songs that alternate between choppy and smooth, vocals punctuated by exultant high whoops, a dance vocabulary. Yet Usher places Jackson’s trademarks into a persona of his own; less tense and otherworldly, more a regular guy who can do extraordinary things. Usher also draws on Stevie Wonder in many ways, and on R. Kelly’s fast-then-slow lyrics and sparse electronic grooves. Usher’s “UR Experience Tour” is named after Whether Usher plays a Romeo or a Casanova, his voice promises easeful, lingering attention, something much of the concert neglected. The show was hyperactive and airtight, with dancers bumping and grinding and doing acrobatics all around Usher as he stepped neatly among them. He sang one of his most heartsick ballads, “Climax” as he rode a pedestal up and down with video animation behind him, but the crowd was singing along with the sentiment, not the effects. “Confessions,” a remorseful admission of infidelity, was interrupted for D.J. banter and bits of Usher oldies. In an unplugged segment, Usher took time to build in songs like “Burn,” “There Goes My Baby” and “U Got It Bad,” basking in the squeals. And whenever a song came with a dance groove, Usher embodied it with every muscle. But in such a minutely choreographed (and often busily distracting) production, Usher’s own physical control as a dancer could make him seem mechanized, even when his voice was intensely human, and there’s less romance with a robot. Usher can clearly do it all. Still, he doesn’t have to do it all at once, all the time.