Last night Charlie Wilson opened for Anita Baker in the heart of Brooklyn at Wingate Field as part of the 27th annual Martin Luther King Jr. free concert series. Free shows always have underwriters with the funds and the power to make costless entertainment a reality, and this one had a distinctly political feel with a bevy of New York City political heavyweights speaking including Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz (a founder of free Brooklyn concerts) and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg -both men are running for reelection this fall. Bloomberg, Michael Schumer, and Marty Markovitz (dressed in his signature white dinner jacket) all implored the packed audience to vote (while promoting their own leadership ideas and campaigns). After the speeches, a reverend led the field in an extended prayer.

Charlie Wilson took the stage dressed in an all black suit as a group of female back up dancers performed immaculately choreographed, dazzling dance moves. The band, clad in variants on the black and white theme provided a funky, bass heavy complement to Wilson’s large voice. Wilson first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Gap band in the 70’s; more recently his buttery smooth but powerful voice has catapulted him to cameo roles on tracks by hip hop and pop artists like Snoop Dogg and Justin Timberlake, and. In last night’s show Wilson broke out the newer hits early, playing his own versions of Snoop Dogg’s “Beautiful,” and Justin Timberlake's’ “Signs.” The set featured high flying theatrics with Wilson and the band changing outfits into a rainbow of brightly colored suits as the crowd danced happily. It was a long set for an opening act, but Wilson kept the audience entertained for it’s entirety moving with jovial vitality of a far younger man.

Before Anita Baker could perform; the stage needed to be reset, which took much longer than it logically should have. By the time Baker got to the stage, it was ten o’clock, two and a half hours after the event started. Punctual or not, Baker was ready to perform-- her sultry, jazzy voice coasting over a set of slow, romantic songs. “Brooklyn do you want to hear a love song, an old school love song?” Baker asked the crowd before singing “Mystery.” Minimalist arrangements featuring jazzy piano without percussion gave Baker's voice room to soar. For me, Wilson’s more energetic styling's created an odd juxtaposition with Baker’ smooth, easy tempo and made my eye lids a little heavy. “This dress is just a dress. This stage is just a stage. We do this for you,” Baker said between songs. Baker was game to perform and has a big soulful voice, but it did little to move me.

Wingate Field is in a part of Brooklyn I've never been in before, and I was glad to be able to see both a different part of the city and a great concert all in one night. I wasn't sure what to expect from the venue, so when we walked up to see barricades and a line to get in, I realised it would be a little bit different than what I imagined. The stage was huge, there were people by the thousands, security was doing bag-checks, and the field itself was centered around a track that people had set up chairs on. Considering that many of our venues, while they draw huge crowds, are very small stages, this was a newer experience.

Before the show itself got started, we were treated to many, many introductions by many different people. Mayor Bloomberg stood up to say some words -- only the second mayor in history to attend a concert for this series, the announcer told us -- and many big names from the 5 boroughs were recognised in the audience: presidents of associations, councilmen, people running for office, etc. Anita Baker herself came out on stage to talk to the audience for a little bit, and then we were all led in a round of prayer. For about 10 minutes, a pastor stood on stage and asked us to bless various people and places, and people all around me repeated the prayer he called out to us.

After that, Charlie Wilson took the stage. His set started off with black-and-white clad backup dancers who hyped up the crowd and did choreographed moves for us. When Wilson walked out, it was to huge applause and a lot of fanfare. It was pretty clear that while the audience was definitely there for Anita Baker, everyone was looking very forward to seeing Wilson's performance as well. In fact, most of the people around me were dancing as hard as they could to Wilson -- people were singing along, moving their feet, and calling for more after every song. Wilson definitely didn't disappoint the crowd, either. He played a long opening set and talked to us a lot, making sure that we knew he loved us and was listening to us. A couple of times, he let his voice drop out on a part so that the audience could sing, and the crowd always took over wholeheartedly, carrying the song until Wilson decided to join in again. He and other dancers all clad in different colors of the rainbow did a lot of funky dance moves and grooved to the music they were making while they jumped around and pumped up the audience. Wilson's voice was smooth and soulful, and just right for a summer night.

After a long intermission, Anita Baker came out on stage. The crowd cheered loudly, giving her praise she indeed deserves after her career thus far. At only 50 years old, she's won 8 grammy awards and is, in her own right, kind of a big deal. She started off her set with a slow jam, showing her hugely powerful voice and talent that's won her so many awards. Baker was the epitome of class: clad all in black with a sultry diva voice, she commanded the stage and the audience who, from what I could see, were paying attention pretty well. It's hard not to, when that voice is coming through the speakers at you. Throughout the set, Baker stuck more to slower songs than upbeat, up-tempo ones, choosing instead to show us exactly what got her to where she is today.

It was a great treat to see two incredibly talented musicians on stage for the Martin Luther King Jr. concert series.