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)”
