• Home
  • Who’s That Girl?
  • Hire Me
  • Music Events Calendar
  • Upcoming Album Releases

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

~ Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.

SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE

Tag Archives: raphael saadiq live performance

The Way I See It: Raphael Saadiq Concert Review

19 Friday Sep 2008

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

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

raphael saadiq, raphael saadiq concert review, raphael saadiq live, raphael saadiq live performance, raphael saadiq new album, raphael saadiq the way i see it tour, raphael saadiq you tube videos

by vivrant thang on raphael saadiq concert review

I’ve already given you a sneak peek of the show Raphael Saadiq put on in the DC area a couple of weeks ago in support of his third solo album, The Way I See It. I had to come back and drop an actual review and more videos. As I said before, this will easily go down as one of the top five concerts I’ve attended this year. I don’t have to remind you that I’ve been to 27 and counting.

Raphael took the stage in front of a packed house who were eagerly awaiting his arrival. I was just in from Barbados and had to go to work the next day but I was beyond hyped to finally see the sound I’ve been in love with for years live and in stereo. I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing Raphael, Tony Toni Tone, or Lucy Pearl in concert.

I’ll admit, my love affair with Raphael Saadiq didn’t start until the release of the second Tony Toni Tone album, The Revival in 1990 and . By then, I had acquired my little pink boom box and would let my tape rock til my tape popped. It’s virtually impossible to pick a favorite off that one. So many classics.  “Just Me and You” will probably always hold a special place in my heart because of my undying love for “Boyz in the Hood.”

Check out the live performance of “Just Me and You,” and “Ask of You” (his first solo song in 1995 for the Higher Learning soundtrack – damn I’m old). You finally learn what the correct words for the chorus really are. You know you been mumbling some mess for the past eighteen years!

Our relationship was cemented with the next two releases, Sons of Soul and House of Music. Talk about albums full of songs that were often playing on the soundtrack to my life.  I bet you remember just what was going on in your life when “Anniversary” and “It Never Rains In Southern California” were coming though your speakers in 1993. I was a senior in high school and was sure wishing some boy would “pay for the rest of my day!” Victoria sure wouldn’t be no secret! Yup, I was fast back then.

Other hits from the Tonys he performed:

  • Thinking Of You
  • Let’s Get Down
  • The Blues/If I Had No Loot
  • Lay Your Head On My Pillow
  • Feels Good

I’m ashamed to admit that I was late to the party when Raphael embarked on a solo career. When he released Instant Vintage in 2002, I was fresh out of graduate school and pretty much brain dead.  When I finally got my hands on it, it was another one in constant rotation. Even today, from the time I press play, I can just let her rip. Not one single song on there I don’t like. Instant vintage indeed.

From his solo albums, he performed:

  • Be Here
  • Still Ray
  • Charlie Ray
  • Excuse Me
  • Get Involved

Check out what I consider one of the highlights of the evening, Skyy, Can You Feel Me.Talk about being “wide open.”

Now four years after the release of Ray Ray, which I only got my hands on in the last year or so, I was excited when I read over at SoulBounce that he was coming back with an ode to the classic soul sounds of the 60s, which I like to call the music our parents grinded to under the red lights at those basement parties. I am a huge fan of the Motown sound…done correctly.

From the first listen of “Love That Girl,” I was caught up in the rapture. I think you’ll feel the same after watching the live performance. I found his look and the choreography to be beautifully authentic. I think the Temps would vote yes.

I think the Chi-Lites might not even mind him borrowing their song title. Check out his live performance “Oh Girl.”

To my delight, he gave us a preview of a few songs from the new album I hadn’t heard before:

  • Sure Hope You Mean It
  • Just One Kiss
  • Let’s Take A Walk
  • 100 Yard Dash

As you can see, we got a “top notch” performance from Raphael as well as his super talented background singers and band. He blended in old and new music perfectly. If you watch the videos, you’re surely see (and hear!) that there was never a lull in the crowd’s energy. We were mesmerized from the moment he took the stage.

I just got my hand on The Way I See It last night and am anxiously trying to make room in my schedule to really sit down and spend some time with it in anticipation of trying to bang out one of my first album reviews. I’ve heard mixed results from my Twitter fam. Feel free to speak your mind on the album and his live performance if you’ve been so lucky.

We’re fortunate to have him back in the DC area later this month to celebrate MN8’s 7th Anniversary. I’m sitting this one out unfortunately. I blame him. I’ll be thinking of him while I’m getting tipsy out at the Virginia Wine Festival.

According to his myspace calendar, he will grace Philly, New York, Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville with his presence over the next few weeks.

You should be there.

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Subscribe via e-mail for updates.

Get Up With Vivrant Thang!

Recent Posts

  • You Should Be Here: Stevie Wonder Is Taking Songs In The Key of Life Show on Tour!
  • Stevie Wonder Reacts To Verdict In The Trayvon Martin Case
  • A Song For Trayvon
  • Music Events: Jilly From Philly In Convo With National Museum of African Art
  • #ThrowBackThursday “Reminisce” With Bilal (For Dilla)

Categories

  • Album Reviews
  • Best Of Lists
  • Feeding The Music Jones
  • In Heavy Rotation
  • Let's Rock: Concert Reviews
  • Music Events
  • Music Legends
  • Music News
  • New Flava In My Ear
  • Soundtrack of My Life
  • Throwback Thursday
  • Underrated Artist Spotlights
  • Upcoming Album Releases
  • Weekly Round Up

Back In The Day

Top Notch Posts

  • Let's Take It Back To The Old School: Legends of Hip Hop Concert Tour Review
  • Old School Friday: Kids Groups
  • Underrated Philadelphia Soul Singers

Recent Comments

Patsy Canady on Underrated Female Soul Singer…
#uristonline on Old School Friday: Men With…
LarryLot on Old School Friday: Men With…
MatthewWeich on Old School Friday: Men With…
AndrewWharm on Old School Friday: Men With…
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
    • Join 74 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • SONGS IN THE KEY OF LIFE
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...
 

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
    %d bloggers like this: