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Mary J. Blige and Maxwell spent some quality time at AAC on Friday night

The only thing missing Friday night at the Mary J. Blige and Maxwell show at American Airlines Center was a grand finale done in the old Hollywood musical style.

Otherwise, everything you've come to expect from either performer was intact. Really, the two only needed a song each to prove their staying power. Both are quickly moving into Frankie Beverly and Maze territory, in that their fan base keeps growing -- and will show up and show out -- with or without a recent No. 1 hit. (It must be noted that Maxwell's latest, the delayed BlackSUMMERS'night, hit the summit on the Billboard chart when it came out in July.

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Blige was up first. 

Her set list was picked from her catalog with pinpoint accuracy, not a dud in the bunch. Never stopping, either her inimitable dancing or belting from her toes, she commanded the stage. But whatever came before was eclipsed by a showstopping performance of "No More Drama," near the end of which she dropped to her knees after doing a couple of what can only be described as Burpees. And then she was on her back. I'll bet the audience wished they had the luxury of lying down after that performance, too. They may have felt Mary's pain through "Not Gon' Cry," but they've carried the pain from "No More Drama" too long.

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In the words of one concertgoer, "it was cinematic." She was not wrong. For a song about dispensing with worries and people who cause them, it was pure emotional upheaval.

Blige packed more drama in that one song than an entire episode of Queen Sugar, This Is Us and The Haves and the Have Nots all rolled together. It was emblematic of her entire career, and she knows it. Before the song, she said, "Life is really hard but it's beautiful at the same time."

And it wasn't even the finale, or the last costume change. She reserved that for "Family Affair," after saying Dallas was in that number; the song was almost a relief after the tour de force "No More Drama." (She also thanked radio titan Tom Joyner for attending the show. She also should have thanked her drummer, Rex Hardy Jr.; he deserves his own set.)

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Where Blige brought the thunder, Maxwell came through with the lightning.

Maxwell set the crowd up for a sleek performance; come on, after the audience heard his National Anthem, he slid onto the stage from an incline while singing "Dancewitme." He hit all the high notes, except for when his voice cracked a bit on "This Woman's Work." His lower register proved just as effective, and the crowd picked up the singing anyway. His influences were showing: Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Luther Vandross and Prince, to whom he bowed when the latter's visage was shown on the big screen.

Oh, but flirty Maxwell had many attendees spending the entirety of "...Til the Cops Come Knockin'" with silly grins. (See, there's that Prince.)

But it was the bare-bones "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" that demanded attention. From the opening notes to the last, the audience didn't let it go. But Maxwell didn't let it get away, either. Going up and down his octaves, he sang the 1996 song from the seminal Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite as if he had just come to its realization yesterday.

Early on in his set, it seemed as if the band needed to back down a bit to let his vocals soar as Blige's had done. But not here; Maxwell fluttered his set-closing "Pretty Wings" over even the crowd's harmonious singing.

From set middle "Sumthin' Sumthin'" through to "Pretty Wings," the entire audience was his backup. But his real backup singer's energy never flagged; LaTina Webb, who went to high school in Arlington, could have taken the easy way out. Easily.

But no one involved in this concert did that. Maxwell thanked the Dallas crowd for making this one of the best stops on the tour, and he said he wasn't just saying that to butter them up. The truth sat there on his face, as he and the band stood in a row to introduce themselves one by one.

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And the crowd stayed, even after they finally left the stage.

These two are capable of songs that have a calming, soothing effect from the studio. But on stage, they were fire. It's a testament to both artists' performance chops that all it takes is one song to prove the point that they and their music are here to stay.

For more news, views and reviews, follow @DawnBurkes on Twitter.