Review: Why was R&B icon Usher such a big tease in Minneapolis?

As the sound of electronic hand claps echoed throughout Target Center on Saturday night, R&B megastar Usher emerged at the top of a giant LED cube onstage. Oops. That wasn’t Usher. Then he showed up on a side-stage video screen, but not in person. C’mon. Finally, Usher arrived for real from beneath the stage, a wide-brimmed fedora obscuring his face, to deliver “Coming Home.”

What a tease, that Usher.

He teased throughout his relentless two-hour Past Present Future Tour concert that arrived in Minneapolis for a two-night stand. It was a frenetically paced, often exciting show that showcased Usher’s all-around talents as a supple singer, dynamic dancer, sparkling showman and, let’s be honest, irresistible tease.

Usher’s polished, highly entertaining spectacle bookended a week in Minneapolis that commenced with Stevie Wonder’s loose, musically magnificent and uplifting get-out-the-vote performance. The concerts provided a historical perspective on R&B: In the 1960s and ‘70s, Wonder serenaded about love and social issues while Usher’s updated brand from the ‘90s and this century is a lot sexier than “I Just Called To Say I Love You.”

In fact, to the surprise of none of the 14,000 fans at jam-packed Target Center, Usher got a little freaky in a strip-club setting during “Can U Handle It.” The singer tantalized female fans sitting in a choice section inside the club, dangling maraschino cherries over their lips. OMG every woman snatched one with her mouth. What a tease. And a gentleman of sorts, I guess. In some cases, Usher gave the cherries to husbands/boyfriends to do the honor.

Like LeBron James, who is about to turn 40 next month, Usher, 46, is amazingly still at the top of his game after a long run. Strikingly buff (he pulled off his tank top in mid-show), Usher danced with more ambition, articulation and athleticism than any other living bigtime singer who essays movement onstage. Locking and popping, stutter stepping, and moon-walking on roller skates, he did it all.

Vocally, Usher traveled from an intimate croon (“Confessions”) to an emphatic belt (“Yeah!”) with a sassy entreaty in between (“Bad Girl”) and, of course, a sweet falsetto (“Superstar”). To be fair, he may have been singing to tracks when he was exerting some strenuous dance moves.

And, as a showman, Usher created various transfixing tableaux onstage, from a roller rink to a living room with romantic drama, complemented by a series of runway-worthy outfits including a red floor-length faux-fur coat and a rhinestone-encrusted blue leather jacket emblazoned with Future Present Past on the back.