Women In Cages

R. Kelly in stellar performance at Chaifetz

R. Kelly fans never know what they're going to get out of him in concert.

He featured women in cages at a Fox Theatre concert, angrily stormed off the stage at Scottrade Center and got low budget at another Fox show.

But Friday night at Chaifetz Arena, Kelly gave what may have been his best performance locally in years, stepping up his execution and presentation to the delight of more than 5,000 fans who were mostly on their feet all night.

After a black-and-white video segment made to look like it was shot in the '40s and featuring Kelly taking back a pleading lover, he emerged on a set decorated from the same period.

"Step in the Name of Love" and "Red Carpet (Pause, Flash)," got fans moving early.

Kelly, perhaps the most prolific (if also controversial) R&B singer and songwriter of the last couple decades, spent the next 90 minutes running through a massive library of hits.

He said he was told songs from his classy new retro-soul album "Love Letter" wouldn't fly in the face of his more suggestive material, but he threw them together anyway, with the emphasis clearly on the latter with songs such as "Ignition," "Sex in the Kitchen," "Freaky in the Club," "Your Body's Callin'," "So Sexy," "Snake" and "Thoia Thoing," which was curiously slowed down for a twist.

After belting out "Strip for You" with that gospel-honed voice that never falters, he said no one ever really stripped during the song and someone would this night, whether it was he or a female fan.

Other songs included "12 Play," "You Remind Me of Something," "I'm a Flirt," "Fiesta" and "Down Low (Nobody Has to Know").

Many of the songs were truncated to allow as many into the set as possible.

After walking through an aisle in the audience, Kelly performed a segment of the show including "Contagious" and "Real Talk" on a small platform.

Kelly wrapped with a reprise of "Step in the Name of Love," with confetti, streamers and a stage full of female fans. He provided strong video accompaniment through the night.

Keyshia Cole, on a real downswing thanks to her latest album "Calling All Hearts," relied on older material. She made the most of "Last Night," "(I Just Want It) To Be Over," "Let It Go," "Shoulda Let You Got" and "I Changed My Mind."

Cole catered exclusively to the females in the crowd with "I'm Goin' Down" and her best ballads, "Heaven Sent" and "Love."

Marsha Ambrosius, formerly one-half of Floetry, opened with the title track to her "Late Night & Early Mornings" album. She brought her big, nontraditional voice to that as well as Michael Jackson's "Butterflies," which she co-wrote.

Early Release…The Women in Cages Collection released in the US on ...

The whole film has a tone of naivety despite of its run of sex and violence. The plot couldn’t be more simple: a group of women in prison, led by the resourceful Collier (top-billed Judy Brown), plan an escape. Guards torment and molest prisoners. Prisoners get naked (though not as much as you’d expect for this genre). One evil head guard, Lucian tortures bad girls by tying them to tables and hanging snakes over them.

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