I'm so excited to see Meshell tonight. I've been listening to the latest album for the past week in anticipation.

Who else is coming?

I'm here now...(at the apple store)...shout out's to all the FNH crew here in Chi town!

So How was it ???
Come on guys, break the silence !!

I'll have to wait 11 more days before I can see her in Paris ! I can't wait !

The concert was excellent!!

Meshell did her thing, however, like usual there were people in the audience expecting her to perform songs from the first album. There was a woman behind me shouting out 'Dredlock' as she wanted her to sing that.

Obviously she didn't pay attention at the beginning of the concert when she said that she wouldn't be singing any old material.

Overall, I was happy to be there. This was the best birthday present.

Oh, I *really* wanted to hear Lovely,Lovely...but I just played it when I got back in my car!

quote:

Originally posted by gaia:
Oh, I *really* wanted to hear Lovely,Lovely...but I just played it when I got back in my car!

I feel you. I was hoping to hear that one too.

c'mon, y'all know that song is too old for her to be playing right now

It was a great show. I didn't know my favorite song from this tour is Mark Kelley's track.

Deantoni Parks is a monster drummer.

But the best part of Chicago was meeting Imi, Lisa and Derek. It's currently snowing in Minneapolis. Can't wait to meet Tasha. I have some hugs to pass on...

Anyways, it was better than the Sacramento and Portland shows, even though KUDU (Deantoni Parks' band) didn't open for Meshell in Chicago.

KUDU opening for Meshell in Portland and Sacramento was like when The Time opened for Prince back in the day... I'll let folks come to their own conclusion on what I mean by that.

But yeah, the Chicago crowd was into it. It was the first audience I was proud to be a part of.

My only question (still) is where was security for the House Of Blues? That girl should never have made it that far

P.S. Thanks to whoever is making the call on announcing no flash photography. Other than the one shot I saw in Chicago, I haven't seen any at the 3 shows I've been to.

Hope you all have fun in Milwaukee tonight

All of you are dillusional. That was THE most MANIC performance I have ever seen. I get that the drummer was new and maybe she was a little paranoid about that but to have a 'conference' in between each song really took me out of the experience. I know I wasn't the only one pissed that the set was shorter than anything I've ever experienced. I have seen this woman many, many times before and have traveled to other cities to see her in her many genres of music and I will NEVER spend my money on another ticket again-what an absolute let down. To have a show start at 9:30 and be HOME by 11:00 pm is crap and you all know it.

quote:

Originally posted by matthew:

My only question (still) is where was security for the House Of Blues? That girl should never have made it that far

What did she do exactly? I saw her get on stage and Meshell running away. Was she trying to give her something?

Ndegeocello changes tune, but message still unclear

By Althea Legaspi

Special to the Chicago Tribune

November 15, 2007

"If you wanna hear something new, hang out in the front," beckoned Meshell Ndegeocello at the opening of her show Tuesday at House of Blues. "If you want to hear something from the past, then go out in the back and have a drink."

While she may have appeared defensive from the start, it was mostly fair warning to the couple hundred attendees. Through seven albums, Ndegeocello's only constant has been change. She began in an R&B vein and moved into improvisational jazz on her sixth album. Her latest effort, "The World has Made Me the Man of My Dreams," follows the same path of restless evolution. But unlike her prior album, which was mostly instrumental, Ndegeocello's sultry-to-punk voice takes the fore. It also harkens back to her provocative lyrical themes of sensuality, spirituality and how the two intermingle, along with sociopolitical forays.

Musically her new material is her heaviest to date, and this new approach was the focus of the set. It raised the biggest issue with her constant change, which is that with so many musical ideas, songs tend to lack cohesion. "Headline" came off clunky and weighted with funky rhythms clashing against surging guitar. She also ventured into newer, unrecorded material, including the straight-punk treatment of "Lock and Load" and the angular leanings of "Top Shelf."

While her latest musical explorations were jarring to hear, being far from her smoother and more sensual R&B days and devoid of any discernible hook, her voice is still beguiling; she moved beautifully from upper-register singing to her smoky spoken-word style. Her band -- guitarists Oren Bloedow and Chris Bruce, bassist Mark Kelley, and drummer Deantoni Parks -- were skilled at the various musical shifts throughout the set, and Ndegeocello's own turns at bass were highlights, despite some of the less-focused moments. While Ndegeocello's provocative lyrics and unconventional vocalizations, along with her experimentation, does not lack imagination, it is missing direction.

I wish it was longer also, but I really enjoyed every minute of it, I thought it was a great show. I wish the people around me didn't talk so much...of course sitting by the bar didn't help

quote:

Originally posted by leela:
All of you are dillusional. That was THE most MANIC performance I have ever seen. I get that the drummer was new and maybe she was a little paranoid about that but to have a 'conference' in between each song really took me out of the experience. I know I wasn't the only one pissed that the set was shorter than anything I've ever experienced. I have seen this woman many, many times before and have traveled to other cities to see her in her many genres of music and I will NEVER spend my money on another ticket again-what an absolute let down. To have a show start at 9:30 and be HOME by 11:00 pm is crap and you all know it.

hey leela, whats up. well leela, i agree with you and disagree with you at the same time.

So folks are delusional huh? hmmm...interesting.
i disagree. See my explanations below...

The performance was 'Manic'?
I agree AND disagree in the sense that i thought that THAT 'manic-ness' was at least part of the POINT. First let me clarify and understand your disapointment...was your problem with the 'Manic-ness' of the Music itself OR does your 'manic' assertion come from the in-between song discussions that she and the band were having?

If your problem was with the manic-ness of the music itself...again, the impression i got was that that was the POINT of much of it ('it' being the Music). She alluded to some of that herself when she said something along the lines of...'I know some of ya'll are asking me to play some tunes i wrote when i was like 17 years old, but i'm like 40ish now...and love songs are ok and all, but right now i feel the world out there is just SO fu@#ed up and i'm just trying to reflect some of of that in my stuff, so thats where i'm at. So I hope you're open to that...if you are, cool come on down to the front and enjoy the show! if you're not, thats ok too, just move to the back buy some drinks and tip the bartenders well..." ...

...and then she ripped into another killing explosive intentionally 'manic' tune...

Now, if your manic problems came from the in-between song discussions she & the band were having...well to that i say...what's the big deal? I've been to a bunch of Meshell shows as well and at most of them there were similar 'in between' discussions going on. Now it's true, maybe there were less discussions way back when she had been playing with a 'regular' lineup for about a decade (her only long term band 'the Bretheren') but even then there were still often in between check-ins. Now i agree that, since the Bretheren were disbanded there have been more discussions like that... but as her band line-up changes more often, as a band leader there is obviously more of a need to 'conduct'... new musicians playing new music after all...so that makes sense, doesn't it? The thing is, for me at least...those in between song discussions don't take away from my enjoyment AT ALL. they really don't. If the music is ass-kicking (and it most definitely WAS in Chicago)...then the in between song discussions don't bother me one bit. Thats not 'delusional', thats a fact. If they bother you, and you want a more produced style show, thats fine. Look...I do get that that is what some people expect and desire in a concert...a smooth nicely produced set that has been rehearsed to the point where it seems seamless and very 'tight'. That's not what i look for personally, but I get the fact that many (probably most) do look for that type of seamlessness. To that i say there are a bunch of artists who do that, and thats fine & good..in fact I think Prince was doing that type of thing out in Vegas recently and that may be more their bag. But that aint how Meshell has EVER rolled from what i can remember from my own personal experiences. The first Meshell show i ever saw her play was loose and relaxed and casual along those same lines...a sincere 'we're just gonna jam on some shit and see what happens' type of vibe...honestly...THAT is what I DO look for in a concert. I actually WANT to feel like i'm looking through a garage door and 'listening in' on a great band rehearsing...trying new stuff, changing shit up, experimenting, playing around, disagreeing, and pulling it together somehow...i LOVE that journey. for ME anyways, THAT is where MY enjoyment comes from. (not surprisingly, my favorite Prince cds i own are the bootlegs of his REHEARSALS...NOT his polished concerts or studio records. On the Rehearsals are where the true 'life' and free flowing creative juices are most freely injected into the music...for me that's where its at.
Yup, Meshell treats her concerts more like rehearsals...and for someone like me who LOVES to hear (and see) the whole unfiltered journey of the creative process unfold around me and in front of me... (both the smooth paved highways AND the sometimes bumpy dirt side-roads on the alternate paths taken on that journey)... for me that's JUST how i WANT it to be.

Again, if that is not what you are into, if you want a more polished type of gig, it doesn't mean that folks are 'delusional' it just means that 'Mehsell live' probably aint your cup of tea, thats all...because 'polished' she aint and never has been (thankfully so IMO).

now, where we DO agree is with the set length.
I absolutely wish the set in Chicago was longer. I'll make no bones about it. My brother (who is more of a casual Meshell fan than i) went with me to the Chicago set and that was his (and several others) only issue...'man, that was great!! They tore it UP!! wait, is she really done already?'. So again, i agree with you here leela...i too wish the Chicago set was longer...then it woulda been perfect. I'm not certain why she doesn't play for another 30-60 minutes or so and just wear us out completely. I would love that.

I will say however, that what she did squeeze in that shorter period of time though was KILLIN. Make no delusions about that.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: derek,