by Clay Cane

Last time we saw En Vogue was August of last year at B.B. King Blues Club in New York City, but it was without Dawn Robinson -- the one original group member who had not rejoined the group. But, thankfully, Dawn Robinson is back after leaving the legendary R&B group in 1997. All we can say is -- that was a long wait!

En Vogue was spectacular last year, but with all four group members back at the same venue, they were incredible. Dawn, Cindy, Terry and Maxine brought the New York crowd into a frenzy saying, "Ya’ll are giving us so much love." We surely did. The girls sounded immaculate and looked as if they haven’t aged a second -- they are all over 40.

En Vogue opened with "Love Don't Love You" from the 1992 Funky Divas album. This wasn’t the greatest song to open with, considering it didn’t even reach the top 30 of the R&B charts, but the crowd was ecstatic. Thankfully, they went into classics like the #1 R&B hit "Lies," the #2 Billboard Hot 100 hit "My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)" and more.

Unlike last time, En Vogue had a live band, which made their voices soar and gave them an even stronger presence. The women were confident, powerful and had to do their best to sing over the vibrant crowd who knew every word.

One of the ladies added, "If you are a man who has a good man -- put your hand up!" The crowd loved that.

Similar to last year, the En Vogue crowd was thoroughly diverse and they didn't forget the gays. When they went into their #3 Billboard Hot 100 hit from 1994, which was a duet with Salt-N-Pepa, "Whatta Man," they said all the ladies who have a good man put your hand up. Then added, "If you are a man who has a good man -- put your hand up!" The crowd loved that.

The only disappointment of the show was En Vogue didn't sing enough of the hits. They spent a significant amount of time singing medleys of Chaka Khan, Donna Summer and others. Also, a huge chunk of time bringing four men on stage and having they perform, which was hilarious, but afterwards many people asked why didn’t they sing more of the classics? For example, "Don’t Go" (#3 R&B hit from the 1990 "Born To Sing" album) or "Give It Up Turn It Loose" (#15 Billboard Hot 100 hit from 1992).

Whatever the case, En Vogue put on an exciting, fun and fresh performance. These girls are icons of the nineties but surely not stuck there. After seeing them perform, En Vogue might just have a decent shot at a true comeback. We will all be looking forward to hearing new material.