Ok, I'm finally posting about seeing Erykah Badu live. This past Saturday I went to the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, CA to see her. If you don't know about this festival, it's a festival that is more, um, natural. The emphasis is on healthy alternatives to mainstream stuff. I avoided going to it for the first 9 years I lived in the area since I thought it was a big hippiefest. I finally broke down & went to it last year to see Cake & Ozomatli(among others)& I had a blast. It wasn't all hippies, although there were quite a few, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as I imagined it would be. Mind you, I'm into more natural, healthy things but I'm far from being a hippie!
I saw a bunch of other groups while I was there since it was an all day thing(actually 3 days but I just went one day). Taj Mahal played a solo set which was pretty mellow blues but a good performance. Rickie Lee Jones played after him & she was pretty mellow too but it was good. I kept saying to a friend I was sitting with "Ok Rickie you can pick up the pace here anytime now."There were a few other groups as well that played but not interesting enough to talk about.
When Erykah finally hit the stage at 8:25(40 mins. late, what a diva!)I was more than ready. She does this little ritual where she burns sage and bows to the east & west, which has something to do with her belief system, as her band vamps extendedly. She started out singing two songs I didn't recognize which might very well be off her forthcoming album to be released in Sept. They both were great, upbeat & she definitely got the crowd moving with her wonderful soul/hip-hop.
Ms. Badu proved to be quite a showperson and had full command over her band. She would tell them to hold up as she would periodically sing/rap then kick back in when she indicated. She did extended versions of her songs and did quite a few of my favs including 'Tyrone', 'Green Eyes', 'Penitentiary Philosophy', 'On & On', 'Other Side Of The Game', 'Ye Yo', 'Bag Lady', 'Love Of My Life', 'Certainly','In Love With You','Bump It', 'I Want You', 'Sometimes. . .', 'Back In The Day' and a few others.
"Love Of My Life" live '06 in Barcelona:
During the song 'Love Of My Life' Erykah busted out rappin' "Rapper's Delight"(she does it in the clip above)! It was f'n awesome & she did a great job! During the song 'Green Eyes' she's singing about her continued love for her ex & she started pulling down her tights down to crotch level but pulled her shirt down to keep her covered as she's singing about wanting to make love one more time! I don't think it was a usual thing cause her band members had rather surprised looks on their faces(since they were getting mooned w/that big ol' bootay), lol! She had alot of fun with the crowd, getting us involved singing along as well.
And Erykah's voice live is as impressive as on her cds, if not more. She did alot of rap singing but also improvised vocally doing some amazing vocalization. I was also impressed that she performed until 10:00 pm, since I figured she would perform for 45 mins. to an hour tops, being the diva that she is, but she surprised me. So I was definitely in heaven, singing at the top of my lungs & seriously getting down to the songs.
The previous groups/performers paled in comparison to Ms. Badu but she made it all worth going.
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Ahhhh-gust: Not only do you post on my grrrl as your avitar, post a live version of Tyrone, you tell me she sang _green eyes_. (Mooning the band... goodness, that's shameful ;P So long as her hair was bigger - the bootay should appear smaller than it actually is) You made this crazy early morning a total worthwhile experience. Now I need caffeine - got a headache from lack of sleep since about a month into MOG... She really is a "crazy motha f..."
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I had no idea what she even looked like - never seen a clip, and have just one album, Baduzim - so it was great to hear that she's sh*t hot performer as well. Thanks for the post.
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Jonathan: You mind if I use that phrase... _"sht hot"_*, it's pretty schweet !!! :)
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You go right ahead, but I want a 30% cut...
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DUN, D-U-N, DUN... That is as bluecollar comedy as you will ever see Jonathan... just sayin !!! There will NEVER be a Get-r in front of it.
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Hmm, I hope I will also see her live one day. And as cipher I only have Baduizm, but that's a quite unique album.
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It's a great album, always meant to get more of her albums. August - would you recommend another one to look into... I'd be most grateful :)
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Darmuzz, yes I'm glad it did too!
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Its about time, and I am glad you got to see her do rappers delight, I remember you commenting that you wanted to see it, and your wish was granted. Sounds like an incredible time August, great post!
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Liz, glad I could make your morning w/my post. Yes she did 'Green Eyes' which is a three part song off her "Mama's Gun" cd & I'm sure is a tribute to you(although her eyes are green too, I think). I'd recommend all of her cds but her live cd I love the most.
Jonathan, yes she is a shit hot performer. Check out her live cd "Erykah Badu Live" which has some of the songs on her ''Baduizm" cd but they are extended & you really get a feel for how she is as a performer. In fact, I posted about it not long ago & it's up on my page on Multiply , so you can listen to it there.
Hermes, yes I highly recommend to see her live cause she is extremely entertaining. It's expensive to see her just by herself. She played Sunday night in San Francisco since she was so close & it was $100 & $130.00 to see her so $32.00 to see her at a festival was a steal(especially when I got to see a bunch of other bands too), so I'd recommend that if you can find her at one near you.
Tripbro, yes I was so elated that she did 'Rapper's Delight'! My wish was granted. It took me awhile to do this post since I knew there was alot I wanted to cover in it. She totally blew my mind!
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I loved that video that's a single shot... Next Lifetime I think it was... it always put a smile on my face when I saw it... you know... way back when Mtv actually _HAD_ videos for us to view. ON the TV., & not the computer.
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Well your post was and is great, you can tell how much you enjoyed yourself by reading it. Did you make sure to pick up a shirt or music to remember the occasion?
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Liz, yea when Empty V had vids, that was a great one.
Kev, I rarely p/u shirts or music at concerts since they charge so f'n much. It goes against my principles of being a cheap ass bastard, lol! Glad my joy of all things Badu came through to you in my post!
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I am the same way, thats why punk shows are the best. 20 bucks usually gets you a shirt (maybe 2) some music and stickers.
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Will head there tonight...
I am a concert T-shirt whore... I lost count YEARS ago... but I do draw a line... I wasn't gonna drop $60 for a Peter Gabriel shirt - don't care that he wrote Games W/O Frontiers... & one of the all time best sexy time albums... Passion of the Christ... wow, now that I think about it... that's really sacralicious.
Who's wants to join me in HELL ???
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So you're w/me on this Kev!
Liz, I will be there in hell w/ya _FULL FORCE!_ hehehe!
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p.s. Love 'Passion Of The Christ' cd, it's simply a gorgeous cd!
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it really is an unbelieveable album... I swear I never looked at it as a sin before, the sexy time/the cd - then today... as I'm typing it... I see what I did. Wish I went to confession...
HELL, here I come ;)
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I wont spend over 15 for a shirt, dont care who is playing. I would rather get a print of a concert poster for that amount
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Good point... I have an unbelievable one, haven't seen it since my last move.
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The last time I bought a concert tee Kev was when I went to see The Orb in San Francisco in '01 & it was like $14.00 & had the cover of their Cydonia cd & the design of it is just so cool, I had to have it, not to mention it was a steal!
Lizzie, I'm sure the Universe will forgive you for your transgression, if not then we'll be partying up a storm in HELL! But I have to say that "Passion Of The Christ" is a very sexy album, so you're not alone in thinking so. It's a great cd to f'ck to, lol!(Done it many times). I'm so gonna burn for that comment(like I care), heh!
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Augusts, so glad this show lived up to your expectations!
Lizzie...sacralicious!! Now that is a word I'll remember!
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You have Homer J Simpson to thank for that one, but I like to pass it off as my own, so... THANKS ;)
August - I LOVE THE ORB... They make me happy - with their big puffy clouds... :)
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Darmuzz I was glad too since she actually exceeded my expectations!
Lol, Lizzie I didn't even notice that you spelled sacrilegous as sacrilicious, which is unusual for me since I usually catch those things. I've been in a fog of late though what with my allergy/sinus shit acting up & starting a new job, I've been a mess!
Yes, The Orb are fantabulous & were simply psychedelically amazing live! I danced my ass off I had such a great time. I also have most of their cds too cause I lurve me some Orb! There is so much more to their big puffy clouds too!
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My miserable sinuses: A. just hate me, B. barometric pressure, C. the insideously high pollen count... or
D. ALL OF THE ABOVE
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LOL! I'm a big D. All Of The Above as well. I literally _FEEL_ your pain girl!
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great post bro, glad you had a wonderful time. It's only taken me three days to catch up to it. darn the MOG. I'm really glad she did the rapper's delight for you!!!
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Thanks sis. Sorry to hear it's taken you so long to get on Mog. Grrrrr! And yes Erykah did 'Rapper's Delight' especially for me, I'm sure of it, lol!
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She is an artist in many respects. You lucky b*stard ;)
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Yup, I felt very fortunate to have seen her Bartleby!