http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/music/archives/003463.html
The Reconstruction of Lauryn Hill
She arrived on the Harlow’s stage one hour late last night. At least it wasn't running two hours late, like her gig over the weekend in Santa Cruz. And just what would Ms. Lauryn Hill do, the rebounding and reclusive R&B/hip-hop star who announced a gig at Harlow's just three days ago?
Was Ms. Hill, as she asks to be called now, back for good? Was that live album from 2002 just a fluke, the one with the sandpaper vocals and half-finished songs? Is this a return to the glory days of the album that won her all those Grammys, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill?”
No question, this was "the reconstruction of Lauryn Hill." From a sold-out Harlow’s, with the baseball cap ****ed to the side of her head, it was like a middle finger of free-jazz aimed at her back catalog. “Lost Ones” was reinterpreted, more like wrestled to the ground, with three guitarists sqwonking away and spacey chords on the keyboard. Think of it like a mix of Miles Davis’ “*****es Brew” band, the I-Threes and Outkast’s “Hey Ya.”
These spontaneous shows, which in the past month have also gone down in Santa Cruz and San Francisco, are billed as a kind of “open rehearsal.” The show flyer listed “no press” and security was tight with any cameras or recording devices. But it's not known exactly what all the practice is for: A new album? An upcoming tour?
Only the former Fugee seems to know.
A good five minutes on some tunes were spent working out harmonies while the band vamped in the background. The bassist for Ms. Hill doubled as a bandleader, shouting all kinds of cues and throwing hand signals to the musicians around him. With all of these parts being scratched out, it was indeed like a big band practice.
But at $55 per ticket, the audience also expects some kind of a show. Ms. Hill didn’t seem overly bent on trying to entertain the crowd. She didn’t say much to the crowd, and spent most of the gig with intensity in her eyes, only rarely cracking a smile.
Any song fragment that sounded familiar was eaten up by a crowd that was hungry for hits. “(Doo Wop) That Thing” was performed fairly straight, except for the super fast reggae tempo and lyrics that sped into tongue twisters. But most songs were hard to recognize at first. "To Zion" was stripped of its mournful hip-hop vibe and reinvented as Afro-Cuban heat. “Ex-Factor” morphed into an R&B rave-up that was as insistent as it was overplayed.
The one-two punch of “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not” was practically worth the ticket price. This is where the show went buckwild, with Ms. Hill storming around the stage and the crowd collectively throwing its hands in the air. The show pretty much peaked here, and the rest of the night was filled out by some jazzy noodling and a cover of The Shirelles “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.”
And the day after this show, some of Ms. Hill’s fans are probably still trying to figure that out: Do we still love her, or do we really just love the Lauryn Hill of 1998?
I hadn't read any of these reviews before, so thanks Syb.
I think i would die if i was kicked out of a L concert :blink:. In saying that though, i hope the guy puts the video up on youtube soon.
I think the second album will be named "The reconstruction of Ms Lauryn Hill", :bounce: :dances: you know how the first one was "The miseducation of Lauryn Hill". :P