Broadway-Honed Mills Maintains Control

There are other R&B; performers who can get the same type of frenzied reaction from an audience that Stephanie Mills can draw--but in order to get it they generally sing with a flat-out, blood-vessel-popping intensity. On Friday at the Universal Amphitheatre, Mills always seemed to hold something in reserve even as she had people leaping out of their seats on heart-tugging, emotional numbers like “Home” and “Feel the Fire,” on which she engaged in a steamy duet with opening act, Christopher Williams.

In her black sequined gown and glossy Louise Brooks bob, Mills was always the picture of cool sophistication, even as she delivered a down-home, a cappella version of the gospel standard “Mary Don’t You Weep.” With her savvy, Broadway-honed way of putting a song across, Mills is a master at maintaining control while getting fans to lose theirs.

Williams, whose “Talk to Myself” single has crossed over to the pop charts, emoted like a brawny soul shouter in the Teddy Pendergrass tradition. The newcomer has the kind of stage appeal that indicates a solid future.