Sunday night was hopping at the Great NY State Fair over to Suburban Park as Bell, Biv, Devoe took the stage and brought the audience to the feet for the entire evening. Whether you were an 80’s, 90’s or new fan from today, you couldn’t help sing along and dance as they sang and danced their way all over the stage with a level of intensity, that blew your mind.
This Boston trio consisting of Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, and Ronnie DeVoe, began their career together in the band, New Edition, a boy band from the 80’s. In the late 80’s, they spun off from the group after bandmates friends, Bobby Brown, Johnny Gill, and Ralph Tresvant, left the band, allowing them to become more creative as individual performers. The new trio soon become Bell, Biv, Devoe, bringing a new sound to fans known as “new jack swing”, with their first album, Poison, a combination of hip-hop, funk, soul, and pop.
Still playing together today, almost 40 years later, these guys still perform as though they were teenagers. The performance itself was stellar with the well-choreographed dancing their fans know and love, vocals that were spot on, and an energy level that is not only enjoyable, but impressive. The band enjoyed including their audience in the show, bringing a handful of audience members up to the stage to do have a dance off at the end during their performance of Poison. The most creative “old school” dance was the theme, and the audience members didn’t disappoint!
The highlight of the evening though was the young ladies that the band brought on stage to join them on their song “Mr. Telephone Man”. These two teenage girls were plucked from the audience, and unless their music was played on repeat by their mothers, couldn’t have possibly known the lyrics at their age unless they were true fans. The first young lady, although nervous, took a deep breath and began to belt out the first verse and the crowd went wild as her voice was Motown level amazing. So impressed by the young lady, the band encouraged them both to continue with any song of their choosing, which in harmony they sang to perfection. They were sweet, talented, and I truly believe one day may be back on that stage performing for themselves.
The show was a ton of fun, and during the show his band mates mentioned that Mike Bivens just completed and released his own documentary of how New Edition came to be, life on the road, life growing up in Orchard Park, how the band broke up and how BBD was formed. Mike has continued to make his mark on the music industry, the neighborhood in which they grew up, and he continues to break barriers, and bring positive changes in the industry, both as a business man and a performer. I highly recommend downloading and taking a look at Mike Bivens documentary The Hustle of @617MikeBiv. It’s impressive to see how these three musicians began in Orchard Park, and how they have maintained their friendship and working relation for their entire life. It’s also interesting to see how Mike Bivens dreamt of being a basketball star in the NBA, and the moves he has on a court still today. I would definitely pick him for my team!
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