2008年 Jul 27日 Sunday, 17:22

I had the wonderful privilege of seeing Tom Waits and Erykah Badu live in the space of one week.

Bliss!

Although, it's really by husband that's the Waits fan, I was impressed by the man himself in person. While we sat in the plushy comfy chairs of the Kongress Centrum in Prag, Mr. Waits embarked on an artistic journey through his repertoire, treating to us to a perfectly executed show of his known and lesser known tracks. I think my fave performance was Eyeball Kid - it was aptly accompanied by ingenious choreography by Mr. Waits. See it on Youtube to believe it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flCodH86EmM

Then yesterday, we travelled just over 50 km to the Jazz Fest Wiesen, primarily to see Erykah Badu while bypassing Al Jarreau, Omar, The Crusaders and Macy Gray.

Macy was the true revelation of the evening. What an energetic performance! Excellent crowd skills, she showed herself to be a true entertainer. She did some good covers of Creep and Que sera sera and also sampled No woman, no cry. Don't doubt, go and see her. Pay money for it. She is worth it!

And then, the Queen. Erykah. She entered the stage at around midnight and delivered an intense show that lasted over 2 hours!!! It was apparently the last leg of her current tour, so she was in the mood to end on a BIG BANG.

The first half was very experimental, much sampling and electronic and hip hop elements, while the second half was traditional Erykah, pure soul…

I was not disappointed, except by the fact that she did not include Next Lifetime in her set. But she more than compensated - even doing Tyrone, Green eyes and Orange Moon.

The woman can sing. She can dance. She can direct.

She is a true artist.