Chaka Khan – The Civic: April 16, 2025 (13th Floor Concert Review)

American soul/disco/funk diva Chaka Khan packed Auckland’s The Civic on Wednesday night, drawing a crowd made up largely of smiling folks well into their 50s, 60s and 70s. Although there were a few younger fans sprinkled across the grand venue’s red seats, I was – at 52 – one of the least-seasoned patrons.

What a pleasant change to not be one of the oldest punters at the show.

Let’s be clear and honest – although she’s an icon, a fabulous singer and has some absolute bangers in her catalogue, Chaka Khan (real name Yvette Stevens) has not had a notable hit in quite some time. The 10-time Grammy winner’s heyday was in the 1970s and 1980s, first with the funk band Rufus and then as a solo artist. She’s released just three albums this century, the last of them five years ago.

Unsurprisingly, this current tour celebrates her 50 years in the industry  – and for NZ fans, her first ever performance here. The Civic, with its ornate decor, was the perfect choice for an artist whose trademarked logo is her signature and a large red lipstick motif.

Auckland DJ Frank Booker (Chris Cox) set the mood nicely with a selection of lesser known disco and crossover house tunes, before Chaka’s band emerged on stage at the same time as a slick video featuring snippets of interviews and music clips tracing Chaka’s career. It was one of the best opening gambits I have seen in 35 years of attending live music. The video backdrop throughout the show remained impressive.

Chaka’s voice echoed through the venue before she hit the stage, her famous mane of hair a claret-reddish colour, the diminutive singer clad in leather pants and a suitably sparkly black top.

Now, Chaka has an incredibly powerful voice and she can hit some remarkable notes with it. Her style is reminiscent of early blues and soul singers, even sounding a bit like skat or doo-wop, as she drops in and out of some tunes and fully belts out others.

But Chaka hadn’t been on stage long before the problems with the sound mix became evident. For at least her first three tunes, one speaker stack wasn’t working. Chaka herself was too far back in the mix, overpowered by her admittedly excellent backing band. Pops and clicks from the rig were a disappointingly frequent feature of the show, so much so it became uncomfortable more than once. I understand engineering live sound is difficult, but to be frank, this was poor.

Nonetheless, the crowd absolutely loved Chaka, regularly singing along as she sailed through a myriad of vintage hits including my personal favorite I Feel For You (a tune written by Prince and one I’m still regularly playing in DJ sets), Whatcha Gonna Do For Me, Do You Love What You Feel, Through The Fire (sampled by Kanye West) and the truly superb Stay, which was the highlight. The iconic I’m Every Woman was one of her final offerings, resulting in a massive and uplifting singalong.

Chaka’s crack band – two drummers, two keyboard players, bass, guitar and three wonderful female backing singers – was as slick as they come, all given time to shine. The drummers punctuated the middle of the show with a brilliant drum duel, while the lady of the moment took a breather off-stage. The women on BVs were themselves fabulous singers, a match for Chaka.

With 50 years in the business, Chaka knows how to work the crowd, often engaging with front-row punters and light banter. She seemed genuinely pleased to be there, enjoying the adoration.

Chaka was a noted drummer in her early days and it was a tad disappointing we didn’t see her offer a cameo on the kit. Perhaps that’s a reflection of her age -she’s 72 now – and my wife pointed out Chaka seems to have a few problems strutting the stage.

After an hour and 20 minutes it was all over. Chaka left the stage waving and thanking the crowd, albeit with no promises about returning. It’s a fair assumption this may be her only-ever NZ performance.

Despite the audio glitches and the relatively short set, the fans were clearly rapt with what they got and left happy.

I was too. Chaka is a legend, an almost larger than life performer and artist whose 50 years in the business are testament to her calibre. Long may she wail and strut stages.