well I was originally going to hold out and catch one of her NEXT round of east coast shows...but my wife convinced me to go ahead and get tickets to this leg of the tour...

So it looks like I'll get my chance to hear Meshell with her the newest group of musicians for myself a little sooner than I thought i would. My wife and I will be at the 10pm Rams Head Tavern show on Thursday June 19th.

Anyone know any good, safe, but reasonably priced hotels near that Rams Head resturant?

Hey Derek,

Try travelocity.com. I've been using that site for many years now and I haven't been disappointed.

also check out expedia & priceline.

priceline is great if you have an hour or so to sit at the computer and make offers on hotels... i stayed in a room in san francisco for one night for $49 (for a room that regularly goes for $189).

have fun

Thanks ya'll...

Got my tickets & got a hotel within walking distance of the club (only 1 block away).

Starting to get hyped now

curious about the new band. Curious about what new tunes I'll get to hear. Looking forward to it.

of course I'll post the details here when I get back

looking forward to your review... i know it'll be what i want to hear (honesty)

thanks in advance derek

I'm curious to hear Derek's review of the 10pm show. The 7pm show was fucked up .

She only played for 45mins max WTF

Sound was bad Only played 6 songs

New band was just ok. What the hell happened to Kato and the rest of the band

Meshell's got some splaining to do!!!!

Are you talking about Philly 6/20 "show"?? If you are I totally agree with your feedback!! More to come in new post...

quote:

---

Originally posted by JuJu:
I'm curious to hear Derek's review of the 10pm show. The 7pm show was fucked up .

She only played for 45mins max WTF

Sound was bad Only played 6 songs

New band was just ok. What the hell happened to Kato and the rest of the band

Meshell's got some splaining to do!!!!

---

No, he was talking about the show in Maryland the night before. But both sounded like nightmares.

I HOPE to post a full review of my impressions the 10pm show sometime late tomorrow night. Sorry it's so delayed...we got back into town later than expected and I've been trying to play catch-up on sleep and work since then just getting back from a 15 hour day now, so i really need to crash...

take your time Derek

for those that don't know, Derek has a family and works around twice as many hours as the rest of us at his job...

i'm surprised everytime he has time to fly out to see her... shoot, i'm surprised he even has time to post

Ok…so my family and I drive up to Annapolis and we’re at the hotel on the 4th floor. My wife & I were going to the 10pm show so around 5:30 or 6ish we decide to take the kids to go get something to eat. We get down to the lobby and I realize I forgot my wallet…I take the vator back up grab my wallet and get back on the empty elevator to ride back down. Sucker stops on 3rd floor and…well you know the rest right?

Yup. You got it. Meshell herself gets on sipping some coffee in hand.

So it’s just me and Meshell riding for 3 floors. What do you say when you have an opportunity to have a one-on-one conversation with your musical hero? I mean for me this is HUGE. I’m like DAYAM I cannot believe this shit is happening. So what do I say…I don’t even know really…I know what I WANTED to say. I wanted to talk music, I wanted to tell her my favorite tunes of hers and why. I wanted to get into some deep discussions about the subtleties nuances, production styles that were my favorites, where she was going with her stuff. I WANTED to get into ALL of that. So what did I end up ACTUALLY saying? Uhhh something like…

ME TALKING: “hey! HEYYY! Meshell? Bashir? Woaah! Aww maan! I can’t believe this. Cool. Do you know how BAAD you are??! No really YOU’re the shit!!! We built a whole family vacation around your concert tonight!”

Humble as she is she laughed and sincerely thanked me multiple times.

ME TALKING: “ Man! So new band tonight right? I’m gonna miss the old crew.”
(Me thinking: slow down elevator I wanna talk more music)

Meshell: “Yeah new band, Cato’s still with us but he wont be here tonight, he’s working on the new album”

“DING” Elevator doors open

ME THINKING (Damn Lobby ALREADY??? Do I really need to eat? She’s probably heading over to practice right now, maybe they’d let me listen in.
ME TALKING: “ Wow, well this is cool. Looking forward to the show tonight. We’ll be there!)

Meshell: Cool thanks again. Nice meeting you. Hope you enjoy it tonight.

Me Thinking: Alright where’s the damn TV camera…I KNOW I’m on some sort of reality MTV show or something where nutty fans get set up to meet their musical heroes.

Pretty damn cool hunh? She was crazy cool, just mellowed out humble and nice as she could be (considering she was in an elevator with some strange music junkie fanJ. I think it’s real interesting how she can be such a soft spoken almost shy kind of person when you meet her, and then she gets on stage with her band and her compositions and just turns into this powerhouse conductor. Cool stuff indeed.

Enough about what happened to me, here’s what I recall about the show itself…

10pm set list…(titles to the new songs are complete guesses and probably wrong…a waitress was gonna try to get me a set-list but I couldn't find her afterwards)


1) Satisfy…with a nice long groovy intro: Meshell on Bass. Different arrangement, different changeups. Whole lotta bass.. a great jam with a great transition into…

2) Smoke My Earth (?) or (Smoke My Earb?) …beautiful beautiful melodic new tune.

3) Free with You (?) …another great ethereal new tune with a smooth reggae rhthym.

4) This Is How I Love You (Stir It Up) (?)…yet another new fantastic reggae-ish tune. I'm hooked on all of the new stuff already...

5) Liliquoi Moon…explosive version of this tune. Love this song

6) Quentin Mack…crowd pleaser. Lots of applause

7) You’re My Shelter (?)…yaay more new stuff!! I’m in heaven!! Lots of applause on this one too.

8) Come On (?)…funky sexy tune, in the vain of “Tell Me Something good” as far as ryhthm goes

9) Free My Heart…always a showstopper. Brought the house down.

10) Fellowship/Forgiveness & Love…Loved it. Great stuff mophed into Forgiveness & love melody at the end with some nice harmonies.

She left the stage after saying something along the lines of…
‘I just try to share my gift, I hope you found some enjoyment in it tonight’

I did. I think most folks at the 10pm show did. I asked a few folks what they thought and all gave the thumbs up so I was not alone. It was a quiet crowd, but I think many were quiet because they were listening

She played for about 1.5 to 2 hours. As you can see from the set-list she only played three officially released tunes, the rest have only been heard in past live shows or are completely new (new to me at least)! For me this is GREAT! Personally, this is exactly how I prefer live shows. I would love it if she played ONLY new tunes. I understand that I may be in the minority here and that most folks want to hear their favorites. That’s cool too, I love to hear her rearrange tunes I know into something fresh…but for me, where Meshell is concerned, there is nothing more exciting than hearing something COMPLETELY new for the first time LIVE. That to me is the ‘in the moment’ freshness I crave for in live shows. It’s gutsy for the artist and can be challenging for some listeners…but for me it’s exactly what I desire. And the new stuff she played was fantastic. I mean I just loved ALL of the new stuff. I cannot say enough about the new material! I’m really looking forward to BOTH of the next releases now! As has been mentioned in reviews of recent shows, she is exploring reggae rhythms with some marvelous & infectious results. I probably say this in every review of her shows but I’ll say it again…her music has that magical quality in that, even if you’re hearing it for the first time, it somehow manages to feel like an old friend. There is something spontaneous & new and yet familiar and soothing at the same time. I’m not sure what it is…It may be her delivery that provides that magical quality, I don’t know. It could be the melodies themselves as they are instantly hum-able and haunting…yet sometimes so subtle that they seem to sneak inside of you and just settle in. I can’t put my finger on it really….but whatever it is I LOVE it.

I want to suggest something to first time (and long time) experiencers’ of Meshell live shows…

close your eyes.

I mean it, at the show just close your eyes for AT LEAST a few songs and really focus on the music…the subtleties, the changes, the melodies. Yeah people may be lookin’ at you strangely but so what, your eyes will be closed anyway so how are you gonna know? Seriously, I do this at every show of hers and it makes for an even richer experience than you can imagine…you notice things you may not have otherwise. It’s amazing, you just get lost in the music and you really feel like you’re on a sonic journey with her and the group. Plus, if you close your eyes it won’t matter at all if you have bad seats visually speaking. And besides, as we know, with meshell shows…the action is happening in your EARS where it should be anyway right? So, trust me on this….close your eyes and listen…or should I say…” Close your eyes so you can see”…

So now, about the new band.

As I have admitted previously I was shocked and seriously saddened when I heard that the Brethren were no more. THAT was my favorite band ever by anyone I’ve ever heard… ever…period. So you’ll understand why heading into this Rams Head show I was a bit apprehensive…I tried to throw out any expectations and just go in there with a blank slate. I didn’t want to expect to be blown away, I didn’t want to expect to be disappointed. I just went in expecting to experience SOMETHING real and honest…for better or for worse.
To summarize, I enjoyed the show. I did. The material itself…the songs and compositions were stellar. You can ALLWAYS count on Meshell for that. She was the consummate orchestrator…when I did have my eyes open I could see her directing musicians to do this or do that…slow this down, speed this up, fade that out. It’s fun to see that…again, to see that ‘in the moment’ experience of creativity happening right in front of you on the spot… THAT’s keeping it real. Some think that is distracting but I don’t mind it at all really, as long as it produces some creative sonic results.
Meshell delivered on that,

The 10pm Band…

Bass vocals-Meshell
Keyboard/Organs - Raymond Angry
Guitar vocals- K'alyn vocals
Guitar - Oren Bloedow
Bass – Jesse Murphy(?) not sure about the last name.
Drums - Chris Dave

All of the musicians are talented in their own right of course…couldn’t argue there. Meshell probably wouldn’t be playing with them if they weren’t. They are mostly the same crew that played up in NY I little while back, with the exception of the Bassist Jesse Murphy, who while talking with him after the show mentioned that he had just joined only two days ago! Nice guy too we chatted a bit (I should have verified his last name then). Jesse was great on bass…Meshell never had to give him any direction as far as I could see…he was in the groove and on target the whole night. Seemed to be just enjoying himself and going with the flow. Pretty damn good for two days! We all know K’alyn…he’s been in the mix holding down vocals and some guitar for some time, no worries there. Oren the guitarist filling in for Cato that night was real good too, he did some interesting stuff and seemed to enjoy himself as well. The keyboardist …well I’ve gotta say this first…I am biased…in my opinion, ANY keyboardist who has to follow Federico has got some big shoes to fill…Federico just had that intuitive thing going on…I loved Federico’s playing… but I’m trying to avoid comparing the two here because it’s not about that. That said, at this show at least, Raymond didn’t move me quite that way yet. He was technically solid no doubt…but I just didn’t get that emotional connection yet. The Drumming…ok this one is tricky too…Chris Dave was doing some cool stuff on TOP…playing with reggae rhythms & accents and such…but the bottom was the issue. There were a few songs where it seemed to me that the bass drum was just not in the pocket. It was kinda weird…the first few times I thought it was a mistake. Then after a while I thought, well maybe he’s doing it on purpose…trying to create a delayed back beat, polyrhythm thing going on or something. Maybe so, but for me in a few cases it was too far behind the main beat…so much so that it sounded at times that there were two records playing at the same time. Kinda messed up my flow at times. At first I thought it was just me but my wife said she noticed it too.

I hope I’m not coming off as too critical here because I really really DID enjoy the show…I can’t wait for the next one to come through nearby because, money & time willing, I will be there to see how things evolve. Hopefully with rehearsals and more experience playing with each other some of the little loose ends will come together a bit. Right now it’s fair to say it’s still a work in progress… and I gotta say thanks and give props to Meshell for not being afraid to work it all out right in front of us. It makes for a truly interesting and exciting live creative experience…a one of a kind thing…still well worth every penny if you ask me. So in the end I’m optimistic…and excited about the unknown. Do I still miss the Brethren? Oh Hell yes. But I take comfort in the fact that Meshell is still at the helm…so if nothing else that GUARANTEES an exciting, unpredictable challenging and ultimately satisfying journey…and that’s what we love her for after all.

She’s still got it ya'll…

derek

great review Derek... thank you for taking us there

thanks derek. i appreciate you taking the time to post this much detail, as i am sure everyone else does. great review.

Wish I could have been there. Sounds like a wonderful experience Derek!

Yeah, It was another exciting Meshell Live experience indeed. Looking forward to more!

I forgot to mention a few details in the review above...

•Meshell did play a lot more bass than she has at previous shows (which is great if you ask me!) The BASS FACE was definitely in effect quite a bit!

•Also, it was cool to see her listening and really getting into what was happening to the music on stage...she was dancing around and grooving... letting the music get inside of her as well...bobbing her head in approval whenever a groove felt just right. So, i guess if you want to enjoy seeing HER enjoy herself, I guess it's ok if you open your eyes SOMEtimes at the shows...for a little while anyway

Also, K'lyn came out after the show and chatted with folks in the crowd for a long time. Real cool dude as well, i congratulated him on the show and told him how much i loved the new stuff. Wish I could have caught the set he & meshell are doing in NY! That would have been some cool shit!

Great review, Derek. Thanx!

thanks so much for such a descriptive review on so many levels! it's so touching hearing how you felt when you met her. i definitely feel what you are saying about alllllllllll that stuff in your head you'd love to talk about..because your standing there right in front of your musical hero, but there's just no way and no time.. i'm always worried i'll just blurt out some random, lame inconsequential music trivia or something.. instead of the most important thing, just that i love and appreciate their music and message. anyway....

it's nice to hear a detailed musical review.. and one on the more positive side of things. i love liliquoi moon, it's so lush and moody. i wonder what it's like live. like you say, if i ever DO get to see meshell play live, i would prefer to hear a lot of new music. it's always so interesting to hear about how she interacts with her band.. as far as giving subtle directions and what not. i suppose this might be a little different with all the new members, but i'd love to see then all in action.

i saw the keyboardist, Raymond Angry playing with the brother jacques project, and though i enjoyed some of his playing, i honestly wasnt feeling a lot of what he did in that setting (this seems relevant. meshell actually sat in with them for like 15 minutes). one thing i had an issue with was how he used 'wah' on about 90% of what he played.. to me, that is just too much. also, i think that string sounds on keyboards have to be used with great care to be a good thing. he used some strings sounds, simply as block chords, but they didnt add a lot for me. he is, no doubt, a good player, just sharing some of my reactions. i'd be interested to see what his playing is like within the context of meshell's new band. it seems to me that keyboard players in her band have a history of taking electronic sounds and mixing them with more organic sounds (like organ and piano sounds for example) to create a very unique texture and sound scape, and i wonder how angry will fit into this ....tradition? lineage? i suppose, really, i am just talking about federico and meshell's keyboard playing. they rock.

incredible review, derek...thanks. recalling our trip a coupla years ago to see her (both shows) @ the rams head, combined with your detail...i feel like i was there, for real.

the first time i met her and had a few seconds to say something to her (while she signed my poster), i was a blabbering idiot mess! i don't even remember what i said...i was so overwhelmed. like you say, derek...what DO you say to your longtime musical hero?? the times since then, i've just said "thanks"...since there is no way i could ever express everything i feel about her music (and her ideals, and her politics, and her humility, and all the other things i really dig about her) in just a few seconds, anyway. every time i've told her "thank you," she always replies with, "oh [or no], thank YOU."

i SO want to see her with a new band playing almost all new songs. i hope chicago won't be her only midwestern stop...