Category Archives: Let’s Rock: Concert Reviews

When You Gonna Get Up

03 Sunday Mar 2013

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I know you’re down, when you gonna get up
I see you down, when you gonna get up

Forgive me for the lack of posts over the past couple months. At least it wasn’t two years this time! To say I’ve had a rough start to the New Year would be an understatement. To put it in perspective without spilling all my guts, one of the two traumatic events I was dealing with only happens to two out of one hundred people and I still have no explanation as to why I was a statistic. I can only imagine that it was a message, one that I am still waiting to receive.

During this time, I just couldn’t find the mental (or physical) energy to write here. I’m not the type that can “tweet through it” although I  tried to maintain some presence on Twitter so I wouldn’t totally destroy what I am trying to re-build. When I’m going through, I have to retreat and be still.

I also wasn’t attending any shows or listening to much new music so I didn’t have much to write about. So you know shit was serious.  I missed two epic shows that I had been looking forward to — Jessie Ware and Big Daddy Kane performing with a live band.  When I purchased those tickets, nothing but God was going to keep me from it! In a way, I guess He did.

This whole experience also taught me that you never truly know what people are going through. I have been walking around every day for the past couple of months carrying a lot. Just because folks are made up and smiling doesn’t mean their lives aren’t completely falling apart in the background. Check up on the folks that mean something to you. You may just save that person’s life with one phone call.

Moving on.

I am slowly but surely beginning to feel like myself again. Before all this happened, I didn’t know my own strength. I’m a bad mama jama and all but I will still likely end up in therapy, which you know I strongly advocate for if you’ve been with me for any length of time. I have so much to do this year and so much good music to share with you. I need to “get up” so I can give it to you.

As I start to get back into the groove, it helps that my musical new year has been off to a smashing start.  If Jose James comes to your city promoting his latest  release, No Beginning No End, run to get tickets. It was my first time seeing him and he and the band were absolutely amazing.

Check out my recap of the Jose James show containing my live tweets and some videos.

A couple of nights ago, Queen Erykah Badu came through to celebrate her birthday and blessed us with a performance of the entire magnum opus, Mama’s Gun. When the show was first announced, as I tripped over myself to cop a ticket, I side eyed her touring on old music when she needs to be up in the studio bringing us the new new.  When I tell you that woman  gave the best performance I’ve ever seen from her, that is an understatement. I have seen Erykah live many times over the years, dating back to the Baduizm days. Some performances are better than others but there was something magical about this one.

I may be biased because she was performing from the album which I consider her best to date. She simply owned that stage. She was having fun. “Orange Moon” [watch] and “Green Eyes” [watch] were  spiritual experiences. “Green Eyes” literally punched in my gut and knocked me off my feet. I was back there.

I can’t believe I made a desperate plea…
Never knew what a friendship was
Never knew how to really love
You can’t be what I need you to
And I don’t know why I fucked with you

LISTEN. She sang that like she was still there.

The encore found Erykah rocking “Danger” from Worldwide Underground to a go-go beat. Watch some not so great video that captures the fire she lit within all 2432332 people at the show.

If that tour comes your way, you should be there. I’m so thankful to these two artists plus a few more that have released  stellar music in early 2013. Look out for posts about that soon!

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New Music from Bilal Oliver: Will We Actually Get ‘Airtights Revenge’ in 2010?

08 Tuesday Dec 2009

Posted by in Let's Rock: Concert Reviews, Music News, Upcoming Album Releases

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You already know this is another artist on the short list that can bring me out of retirement.

I’d be remiss as queen bee of the Bilal Stan Association if I didn’t share with the one or two of you that still stop by (thank you!) new tracks that Mr. Oliver performed during his set here in DC over the weekend.

I have to admit I was a bit nervous about this show. Last couple of times he rolled through DC, I had to take him to task on Twitter for lackluster, “i don’t give a fuck, cut the check,”  performances. It was like watching this right here. I derive no pleasure from standing on the side of the road and watch a ten-car pileup.

I am happy to say at this show he acted like the Grammy-nominated artist I know who could blow all of these R&B cats off the stage using  only10% of his vocals. Mr. Oliver put on an amazing set that included a preview of three tracks I expect we’ll see on his upcoming album, Airtights Revenge. Check out “Levels,” “Robots,” and “Cake & Eat It Too” and let me know what you think in the comments.

I wasn’t sure how I felt about “Levels” when I first heard it and was curious about the direction of the album. However, after seeing it live, I can dig it. “Cake & Eat It Too” will definitely be popular with the fans. The beat knocks.

Levels

Cake and Eat It Too

Robots

“Since I Been Loving You” is of course a Led Zepplin cover and I don’t believe it will be on the album. However, if you don’t watch any other video, watch this one. I attribute his antics to my fly ass Bilal tee I was rocking in the front row. He saw that and knew I had been down for a minute!

So seems like 2010 will be a damn good year musically. We’ll be holding a vigil for Airtights Revenge. His manager says he only a couple tracks left to record. Look out for an interview soon over at SoulBounce where I’m sure Butta will get to the bottom of this. We’ll also be checking hard for:

Be sure to follow these artists on Twitter and via their official websites and blogs to keep up with the latest on release dates. Who knows when I’ll write here again.

It’s Essensual That You See Omar in Concert

23 Thursday Apr 2009

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones, Let's Rock: Concert Reviews

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You know it ain’t nothing but a thang for me to travel up and down the East Coast to see Omar perform. When the “godfather of British soul,” comes stateside, I come a-running. I was hanging with some people before the show and one asked, “Do you really have to go to this show?” After my head stopped spinning around on my neck I basically said, “Nothing but death can keep me from it.”

It was my first time actually seeing him perform in DC. I’ve driven to Philly and even down to Raleigh, NC. DC shows Omar major love. The venue was packed and people were pressed to be as close as they could to absorb the energy from Omar and the band.

You can see from my cheese-eating grin up there that the set was outstanding as usual.He performed about ten songs, a few of them from his latest album, Sing If You Want It. However, most of the sets featured classic tunes like “There’s Nothing Like This,” “Little Boy,” “Essensual,”  “This Is Not a Love Song,” the Roy Ayers cover, “Everybody Loves the Sunshine,” and the William Devaughn cover of “Be Thankful (For What You Got). He would have been up there all night if he would have performed the tracks folks were calling out from the crowd. His repertoire is just that deep.

Here are a few videos from the show. As always, the entire show is on the You Tube channel for your viewing pleasure.

My theme song, “Music,” (I live for the music too, Omar)

Little Boy

Essensual

No word on when Omar will release a follow up to Sing If You Want It, but if you’re feenin for new flavor, head over to his official website and listen to a snippet of a new track, “When You Touch.” Love it. I can see the crowd dancing with wild abandon when he starts performing this one at shows.

Meeting him afterwards, I told him how I had traveled far and wide to see him perform and that he needed to come stateside more often. He was genuinely grateful for the support and promised to do so. So if and when he comes to your area, it’s essensual that you have your face in the place.

Chrisette Michele Live in DC

16 Thursday Apr 2009

Posted by in Let's Rock: Concert Reviews

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Last night I was invited to attend an industry event where Chrisette Michele was performing in support of her sophomore effort, Epiphany.

I was anticipating this event in part because as you know, I totally adore her and love seeing her perform. I have been looking forward to a strong comeback after what I consider to be a five star debut. I must admit after listening to the sampler recently, I wasn’t blown away None of the songs grabbed me on first listen so I needed her to sell me by killing it live.

She didn’t disappoint.

The mini-set only consisted of three songs, which wasn’t enough for me to evaluate what we’ll see on May 5th. I really wish they would have played the album in the background before she hit the stage. However, I can say that for me, her performance just cemented what I’ve always felt: that I am ride-or-die for CM. As long as she doesn’t do a track with T-(esticular) Pain, I will support anything she does. Or adhere to the “if you can’t say nothing nice” rule of thumb. I will always support artists that study and hone their God-given talent.

I also must say that I take back what I said about them photoshopping the album cover to death. Although I’m still not in love with it, as you can see from the picture above, she has been hitting the gym hard and looks great. That’s always a good thing. With a full schedule ahead in support of the album, she needs to be in the best shape possible I would imagine.

Here are the videos I captured of “Epiphany,” “What You Do,” and “Blame It On Me.” These are far from my best work but pretend it is and enjoy anyway!

“What You Do” doesn’t need Neyo. It’s a much prettier song with just her and the keys.

What do you think?

“Blame It On Me” is the perfect example of a song that didn’t grab me when listening to the sampler. However, now I’m playing video on repeat so I can hear the whole thing. I also loved how she connects directly with the audience. And you know how excited I get when an artist sangggs to my camera. It feels loved.

Thanks go out to DJ YZO for keeping this cool kid in the loop.

Remember folks, Epiphany drops May 5th. Support the music.

For day-to-day updates, follow CM on Twitter @epiphanygirl. She’s quite the entertaining tweeter. She talks to us like we’re her peeps. Gotta love that. She also has a You Tube channel as well. Subscribe!

Rewind Selector: Raheem Devaughn Performing at Bilal Show

15 Wednesday Apr 2009

Posted by in Feeding The Music Jones, Let's Rock: Concert Reviews

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You’ll be seeing a lot of “rewind selectors” here in the coming weeks as I’ve discovered a ton of concert videos that I never uploaded to the You Tube channel and shared with you.

As you know, I spent Valentine’s night stanning for Bilal. He rolled solo that night, sans his back up singers. Raheem Devaughnwas in the house and all too happy to rock with “one of the most talented muhfuckers in the game.”

He helped Bilalout on backing vocals for a few songs and then took the stage and freestyled over “White Turns to Grey,” the panty-dropper on his lost album, Love for Sale.

Rah, you’re doing it right here. Cut the crap and get back on task. And did I hear mention of he and Bilal on tour? Well, we would need to get an album from Bilal first of course. Imagine that. 0_O

I wasn’t in the mood to play Mata Hari that night so I actually obeyed the no recording rule for the most part. Besides, I’m a lover not a fighter at heart. Other than capturing Raheem, I only pulled the camera out to get the end of what turned out to be the last song. Sound problems on the venue’s janky system brought about an abrupt end to “Make Me Over,” which Bilal soulfully mixed with “Planet Rock.”

Stay tuned for a mini-review with video of Omar in concert. If you’re in DC and missed this one for no good reason, I don’t really get you.

Also get ready to go inside the artist’s studio with Erik Rico. You don’t want to miss this cat preaching the gospel of industry rule number 4080.