LA Times-Erykah Badu’s Vortex Tour
On his New Yorker blog last month, Sasha Frere-Jones wrote that Erykah Badu’s live show “gave everyone in the house serious bragging rights. Dylan in 1965, Metallica in 1985, Bad Brains in 1981—it was one of those points on the arc. If you want to know who is at her peak, who is both of her moment and channeling so many forces that her work spills out over the edges of history and stops time, that’s Erykah Badu in 2008.”
Now even Dr. Nick Riviera would diagnosis such behavior as exhibiting signs of serious Baduizm, but truth be told, after last Thursday’s Badu/Roots show at the Greek, I too was struck by the sudden urge to rock plaid and gulp gallons of green tea. Granted, I’m not ready to yet put the show in such rarefied air, but suffice to say, Ms. Erykah “On and On” Badu put on the best performance I’ve seen this year. And this is coming from someone who wasn’t even a big fan prior to New Amerykah.
Openers, The Roots looked sharper than they have in years with Thought kicking “75 Bars” with such fury that it should be required viewing for all aspiring MC’s. Guitarist Capt. Kirk Douglas locked into some Eddie Hazel, interplanetary freak-outs (no Jean-Luc Picard) that pushed wigs back.*Still, the legendary couldn’t hold an incense stick to low down Loretta Brown. The review is in the Times. If Badu comes to your town, trust, the live show is well worth the risk of being forced to wear a Newsies hat for the next half decade.
*Though it can be safely reported that Badu’s wig continued to hold nicely.
LA Times-”Erykah Badu’s ‘Vortex Tour’”
Download:
MP3: Erykah Badu-”The Healer”
MP3: Erykah Badu-”Soldier”
MP3: The Roots ft. Mos Def & Styles P-”Rising Down”
MP3: The Roots-”75 Bars (Black’s Reconstruction)”
Stumble It!
June 16th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
That’s some good newspaper writing right there.
June 16th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
one advantage of living in dallas is seeing ms. badu around town at most decent hip hop shows. i’ve seen her perform w/ outkast, common, the roots, digable planets, etc., and i’m always blown away.
also ‘the healer’ is the fucking jam.
June 17th, 2008 at 5:16 am
Perhaps as a side effect of my work documenting severe cases of Baduizm, I’m sad to say that I myself have contracted a pretty serious case.
All jokes and photoshoping aside, the album stays in heavy rotation. I’m glad I made fun of her before because I’m not sure if I’d be able to at this point.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Sach, Say word.
It good to hear that you have “come” around.
You should let me interview you.
June 18th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Thanks for this post.
Saw her live in a small venue on south beach with common and talib… Amazing!
http://blog.kmelanie.com
May 26th, 2009 at 1:12 am
[…] leather pants, Public Enemy hoodie, and Abe Lincoln hat. Judging from Sunday’s set and her Greek Theater godliness of last summer, I’m convinced that the source of her talents is as extraterrestrial as the U.F.O. theories […]