Erykah Badu Concert Review

A few weeks ago I attended the Erykah Badu and Friends concert here in Madrid.  I'd heard excellent things about her live performances, and I decided to find out if they were true.  Hit the jump for a thorough review.
 Never a die-hard Badu fan, I walked into the show only familiar with her two latest albums: The New Amerykah: Part 1 (4th World War) and The New Amerykah Part 2 (Return of the Ankh).  I stepped into the pit only to witness some British dude and his band on stage.  My first reaction was to disregard them as the designated unimpressive first act, and go get myself a beer.  But given that I was there alone, and that I didn't feel like dropping eight euros for a Heineken, I gave the guy a chance.  It was a wise decision.  Jamie Woon's band consisted of a synth/guitarist and bass; he played electric guitar and rocked the mic.  His voice is reminiscent of Craig David, but his overall sound is much closer to James Blake's.  Woon's style is far more accessible than Blake's, and he deftly balances poppy falsetto vocals with an electronic/alternative rock background.  Unfortunately, the following videos don't do the live performance justice.  The bass drove much harder live and the improvisational aspect had the majority of the stoic crowd and I moving our feet by the time he finished things off with "Night Air."  I was content with the fact that at least one of Badu's "Friends" had been more than worthwhile.




D.J. Hudson Mohawke was up next.  Badu, via pre-recorded video message, assured the audience that Mohawke struck her fancy with his way of layering sounds and ability to blend genres. I was intrigued, but a bit worried that my luck would run out and my musical tastes would diverge with Badu's as the music took a turn toward the truly electronic.  Fortunately Mohawke stacked beats well and sneaked recognizable soul and rap clips into the mix fluently.  I can proudly say I was the only son-of-a-bitch in the audience rapping along to Big-L, Wu-Tang and Mobb Deep cuts, and one of the only ones singing along to Mtume's "Juicy Fruit."  The people around me were perplexed by the rapid changes in the beat, my tributary hand gestures (throw your Ls, and respective, Ws up) and my knowledge of most if not all of the lyrics of the rap songs.  Being surrounded by a group of people with little to no knowledge of hip-hop and no idea of how to react to the beat was surreal.  I was elated to finally be listening to some real hip-hop and classic R&B in Spain, but I felt utterly alone without a homie or audience member to share in the experience.  I felt like a monkey in zoo exhibit.  If I closed my eyes I could imagine being surrounded by a musically informed public, and girls unopposed to a little bump and grind.  Too bad it's creepy to close your eyes for too long at a concert, and grinding without explicit written permission is anathema in Spain.
Check out the Soundcloud to get a feel for it and snag some free downloads.
Hudson Mohawke x Aaliyah - Somebody by Hudson Mohawke
Hudson Mohawke - Party Animal by Hudson Mohawke
Hudson Mohawke - Freek by Hudson Mohawke
Mohawke left, the lights dimmed, and after a brief wait, Badu graced us with her presence.  She was decked out in a thick, green trench-coat and a green felt hat that would make Dick Tracy's look like a fez.  She removed it halfway through the show to reveal a billowing dress that gave her some room to breathe.  Her band was made up of three or four back-up singers, two drummers, a pair of guitars, a Michael Clark-Duncan looking motherfucker on the flute.  She started the set off with some six-pad solos and lead directly into "The Healer."  She commands a stage like a 5 star general, and her band was precise and talented.  I was hooked, and for the next hour or so Badu gave it her all.  She did a fair amount of material from her New Amerykah opus, and played a number of throwbacks.  She told stories, dug deep into the depths of her soul to render the raw emotion into awesome tones, rapped with beautiful flow, got nasty on the six-pad and gave every audience member an experience he or she would never forget.  One of my favorite moments was when she did a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Wang Dang Doodle" and followed it up with "Window Seat."  She left with an eight minute-plus performance of "Bag Lady," and I felt like by the end of the show, regardless of nationality or language, the audience was on the same page.  Although they may not have understood her jokes, lyrics or diatribes, the other members of the audience were united by a general idea of unity and well-being that Badu's live performances evoke.  If you get the chance to see her, don't hesitate to do so.  It was one of the best performances I've ever seen, and I was dead sober during the whole event.  I left the show with a feeling of complete amelioration, as if my mind had been given a massage with a fantastic happy ending.