Raunchhouse rhythms

`Would you like to see me do a striptease?" asked Toni Braxton during her sold out concert at the Point on Monday night. She wasn't addressing the audience but a lucky young man she had plucked from the crowd. This same bemused fella was now lying on a chaise longue, while the sultry American singer stroked his midriff. Toni Braxton is certainly one good-looking babe and the two giant, hi-resolution screens capture every bead of sweat on her smooth, chocolate-brown skin. She wears a shiny, skimpy, black dress and knee-high boots and her lip-gloss shimmers every time she hits a high note.

Oh, I forgot, she sings songs too - a mixture of soft r & b and sensual ballads.

She performs tracks from her current album, Secrets, including How Could An Angel Break My Heart, Find Me A Man and I Don't Want To but it's all just window dressing. Braxton's music is designed to show her in the best possible light and to play up her obvious qualities: expressive face, come-to-bed eyes and bump 'n' grind body - a trim, tight love machine with a voice made for seduction.

Now, where were we? Oh, yes, the music. Braxton gets behind the piano to show another side to her personality, then slips into a silky white evening dress for the final ballad, Un-Break My Heart. Give the girl her due, this is one monumentally catchy tune and all other blandness and bluster are (almost) forgiven. Braxton finishes on a raunchy note, bringing a whole bunch of guys on stage and giving each one a good eyeful of her tight white catsuit. Is it hot in here or what?