“So what I want to know now is how many people can woo woo woo?” asked Jeffery Osborne. Then he launched into the hit song that popularzied that dance — and bounded off stage to join the audience on the New Haven Green in bringing it to life.
The performance Saturday night was third and final night of the Music on The Green concert series that began July 11. It drew some 12,000 people. Osborne headlined a show that began with an opening set by a band including New Haven’s own Greg Morehead, who when he’s not performing music is running for reelection as alderman from the 22nd Ward.
Osborne electrified the crowd with his song’s trademark dance — and found willing dance partners.
Sheila Reddick (pictured on right with friend) was the first to prove herself. A lifelong fan of Jeffery Osborne, Reddick “woo woo wooed” with skill. She rolled her hips and shook her shoulders to the beat as Osborne held the microphone for her to sing the chorus. Afterwards she admitted that she’d been a Jeffery Osborne fan for over 30 years. “I’m 52 now. I don’t look it though, do I? That’s because I can woo woo woo!”
Reddick and other fans were wooed by Osborne’s soulful love ballads and tight physique. Throughout the night, Osborne brought back ’70s sex appeal as he shed parts of his three-piece suit to reveal a sheer black body conscious T‑shirt. The crowd went wild.
A skillful live performer, Jeffery Osborne got his start in 1969 as a member of the funk and soul group LTD (Love, Togetherness & Devotion). On Saturday, Osborne performed their hit song “(Every Time I Turn Around) Back In Love Again” in addition to hits from his long successful career as a solo artist, including “On The Wings of Love,” “Don’t You Get So Mad,” “Stay With Me Tonight” and, of course, “You Should Be Mine (The Woo Woo Song)”
Before Osborne took the stage, the crowd enjoyed the music of local funk/pop band, DangerZone. This is the first year concert organizers invited local musicians to join the series.
Alderman Greg Morehead (pictured) drums for DangerZone and has performed across the nation with the group. They performed in New Haven for the first time Saturday.
At one point the alderman’s son Jaden joined the stage with his dad to play a quiet trumpet. During the set Morehead dedicated “A Song For You” by Donny Hathaway to the ward.
Morehead described the performance as a powerful experience because of “the ties I have to the people I play for.”
“It feels good,” Morehead said.
Great show. The sleeper hit of 2009!