destruction
07-16-2011, 09:27 AM
Editor's Note [[Part of the reason this has been delayed is due some behavior....that has since been Corrected, Des.....Enjoy)
My name is Qwannie and this is my review of the Bettye LaVette Concert that I attended on Tuesday, June 21. We saw the show at The Smith Theater at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD. The place wasn't as big as the Lyric Theater in Baltimore, but it held a lot people and the place was packed. Each row was a lot higher than the next, so even I could see everything.
The band started playing first. Then the keyboard player said, "Miss Bettye LaVette", in a cool way that said, "here's what you've been waiting for.....come get some"....like when people call you for a special meal. Bettye came out swinging....I mean singing...with her sassy self. I was close enough to see her sparkling top, matching pants and high black heels. Her hair was medium short, tight, and framed her face perfectly. Raw Bettye....no bling, no props, no nonsense. She's older than Pops, but I swear she looks younger than most of the mothers of my classmates at school.
I don't want to talk about every song she did because I don't want to spoil it for you if you want to be surprised when you see her. Bettye performed songs from several of her albums, some were Grammy nominated, some were not. One album won Blues award. What's funny about that is that she sings music from different categories or what music people call genres. She does Soul, Blues, Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop.....but no Rap and no World music....maybe that's the next album. No matter what kind of song it is, she turns it into a Bettye LaVette song. Even though she is a beautiful, short, skinny woman....she sounds like a much bigger person. Her voice has a lot sweat, tears and emotion to it....and it also shows on her face when she's singing. Every song wasn't a sad song, but Bettye didn't sing any happy happy joy joy songs.
Speaking of joy, that was one of my favorite songs, Joy. Bettye is the only person I know that can sing a song about joy that's not really a happy song. Instead of having joy, she sings about looking for joy, because someone took her joy....and she wants it back. The guitar player and the bass player tore that song up too. That song made my neck hurt. Even my sister wasn't grooving to it and it takes a lot to get that girl to move. I wanted to get up and dance but Pops told me to be respectful of the audience. Some of them wanted to bust out too, but it was an older crowd like when I saw the Tempts and the Tops. They applauded loudly after every song, but they didn't sing along with her like the TnT audience did.
Getting back to the band. There were 4 pieces. Drums, keyboard, guitar and bass. The band shifted into whatever mood the song required. On Joy they were funky, on Souvenirs, one of Pops favorites, they were almost whisper quiet. On Love Reign Over Me, they sounded like an Orchestra. I think the keyboard player was playing 5 keyboards at a time on that number. In addition to playing so well together, they sang their butts off. There were no background singers with Bettye and that surprised me because I knew there was a lot of singing on my sister's favorite song Heaven [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6F-e_T_CR4&feature=related) that she finally got to see after a 5 year wait. When the band started singing background on that song, I almost said a bad word. They were Tite.
The other song that the band really sang on was The Word. That's my new favorite Bettye LaVette song, after Joy. The band was rocking and Bettye was dancing her little butt off.....all over the stage. She's got the energy of a teenager and she's got moves that would make Tina Turner super jealous. Bettye doesn't just dance with her legs....she throws her arms, hands, and head intoit....especially her shoulders....all moving in her cool Bettye Rhythm. I can still hear the chorus and see her dancing to the break as I write that.
Some of Bettye's material is what we call, Grown Folks Music. Pops says you have to experience certain emotions and situations before you can really relate to them. I didn't really understand what Sleep to Dream was about, but I liked the way she sang it and the band played it. Another reason I probably didn't understand Sleep is because I spent most of the time watching the drummer playing that shaking thing in one hand and all the drums with his other hand....and he never missed a beat. I can't sing as well as my sister, but I know my beats.
She puts so much into each song that it's like Soul Opera. You get it from the emotions and the music, even when you don't understand the language or lyrics. And trust me.....I know Opera on the Daily. Souvenirs was a beautiful sad song.....that I didn't quite get. Pops said that every time he hears Bettye sing Love Reign Over Me, it takes him back to his college days when he used to wake up every morning to Quadraphenia. He's also a big Joan Armatrading fan [[He and Dije....me, not so much) and he missed her doing Down To Zero....but now he's got a New fave.
It's called Choices and he explained it to me after the show. A lot of people complain that life has not treated them well or that they are in the position they are in because someone did something to them. Choices is a song about a man who is not really in the place he wanted to be in life, but who realizes that he is where he is because of decisions that he made or didn't make while living....and nothing or nobody else. Pops told my sister and I to think about that song as we grow older and have to make certain decisions in situations. He says that will determine the quality of our lives more than anything else.
After we had this discussion in the lobby, it was BONUS time. Not only did we get to see a great show featuring a great lady, but thanks to 2 very special people, we got the opportunity to speak with Ms Lavette after the show. I was so awestruck the whole time we were with her, that I barely said a word. Most of time I just listened and smiled. It was so cool that I made Pops a plaque out of a paper plate when I got home. What makes the awestruck thing so funny is that Bettye is just the coolest, most down to earth, regular person that you could ever want to me. She told us stories about everybody and everything from Martha Reeves, who she saw days ago, to Justin Beiber. We didn't want to overstay our welcome, but she never rushed us and made us feel quite comfortable. After asking my sister, Dije, about her music scholarship [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OnMuik45Yg&feature=feedlik)and her plans for the future, she dropped some serious advice on both Dije and myself.
She said that whatever we do, do it with passion and conviction. When Dije told Bettye that she was beginning piano lessons, Bettye said that was one of the few, if only regrets that she had in life....never mastering an instrument. [[Qwannie exclusive here). Then she told Dije to practice practice and practice both the voice and the piano......and don't "half ass" it. Dije has practiced on her keyboards more in the past few weeks than she did all last year. I think it sunk in.
It was an experience of a lifetime....one that will stick with me forever. Again Special Thanks to everyone who helped to make this possible. And thanks to Pops for editing and helping me to write this. ShoutOuts to the SDF Chicago Bettye Lavette crew [[Pops mentioned yall to Bettye). And thank you for reading my first concert review
My name is Qwannie and this is my review of the Bettye LaVette Concert that I attended on Tuesday, June 21. We saw the show at The Smith Theater at Howard Community College in Columbia, MD. The place wasn't as big as the Lyric Theater in Baltimore, but it held a lot people and the place was packed. Each row was a lot higher than the next, so even I could see everything.
The band started playing first. Then the keyboard player said, "Miss Bettye LaVette", in a cool way that said, "here's what you've been waiting for.....come get some"....like when people call you for a special meal. Bettye came out swinging....I mean singing...with her sassy self. I was close enough to see her sparkling top, matching pants and high black heels. Her hair was medium short, tight, and framed her face perfectly. Raw Bettye....no bling, no props, no nonsense. She's older than Pops, but I swear she looks younger than most of the mothers of my classmates at school.
I don't want to talk about every song she did because I don't want to spoil it for you if you want to be surprised when you see her. Bettye performed songs from several of her albums, some were Grammy nominated, some were not. One album won Blues award. What's funny about that is that she sings music from different categories or what music people call genres. She does Soul, Blues, Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop.....but no Rap and no World music....maybe that's the next album. No matter what kind of song it is, she turns it into a Bettye LaVette song. Even though she is a beautiful, short, skinny woman....she sounds like a much bigger person. Her voice has a lot sweat, tears and emotion to it....and it also shows on her face when she's singing. Every song wasn't a sad song, but Bettye didn't sing any happy happy joy joy songs.
Speaking of joy, that was one of my favorite songs, Joy. Bettye is the only person I know that can sing a song about joy that's not really a happy song. Instead of having joy, she sings about looking for joy, because someone took her joy....and she wants it back. The guitar player and the bass player tore that song up too. That song made my neck hurt. Even my sister wasn't grooving to it and it takes a lot to get that girl to move. I wanted to get up and dance but Pops told me to be respectful of the audience. Some of them wanted to bust out too, but it was an older crowd like when I saw the Tempts and the Tops. They applauded loudly after every song, but they didn't sing along with her like the TnT audience did.
Getting back to the band. There were 4 pieces. Drums, keyboard, guitar and bass. The band shifted into whatever mood the song required. On Joy they were funky, on Souvenirs, one of Pops favorites, they were almost whisper quiet. On Love Reign Over Me, they sounded like an Orchestra. I think the keyboard player was playing 5 keyboards at a time on that number. In addition to playing so well together, they sang their butts off. There were no background singers with Bettye and that surprised me because I knew there was a lot of singing on my sister's favorite song Heaven [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6F-e_T_CR4&feature=related) that she finally got to see after a 5 year wait. When the band started singing background on that song, I almost said a bad word. They were Tite.
The other song that the band really sang on was The Word. That's my new favorite Bettye LaVette song, after Joy. The band was rocking and Bettye was dancing her little butt off.....all over the stage. She's got the energy of a teenager and she's got moves that would make Tina Turner super jealous. Bettye doesn't just dance with her legs....she throws her arms, hands, and head intoit....especially her shoulders....all moving in her cool Bettye Rhythm. I can still hear the chorus and see her dancing to the break as I write that.
Some of Bettye's material is what we call, Grown Folks Music. Pops says you have to experience certain emotions and situations before you can really relate to them. I didn't really understand what Sleep to Dream was about, but I liked the way she sang it and the band played it. Another reason I probably didn't understand Sleep is because I spent most of the time watching the drummer playing that shaking thing in one hand and all the drums with his other hand....and he never missed a beat. I can't sing as well as my sister, but I know my beats.
She puts so much into each song that it's like Soul Opera. You get it from the emotions and the music, even when you don't understand the language or lyrics. And trust me.....I know Opera on the Daily. Souvenirs was a beautiful sad song.....that I didn't quite get. Pops said that every time he hears Bettye sing Love Reign Over Me, it takes him back to his college days when he used to wake up every morning to Quadraphenia. He's also a big Joan Armatrading fan [[He and Dije....me, not so much) and he missed her doing Down To Zero....but now he's got a New fave.
It's called Choices and he explained it to me after the show. A lot of people complain that life has not treated them well or that they are in the position they are in because someone did something to them. Choices is a song about a man who is not really in the place he wanted to be in life, but who realizes that he is where he is because of decisions that he made or didn't make while living....and nothing or nobody else. Pops told my sister and I to think about that song as we grow older and have to make certain decisions in situations. He says that will determine the quality of our lives more than anything else.
After we had this discussion in the lobby, it was BONUS time. Not only did we get to see a great show featuring a great lady, but thanks to 2 very special people, we got the opportunity to speak with Ms Lavette after the show. I was so awestruck the whole time we were with her, that I barely said a word. Most of time I just listened and smiled. It was so cool that I made Pops a plaque out of a paper plate when I got home. What makes the awestruck thing so funny is that Bettye is just the coolest, most down to earth, regular person that you could ever want to me. She told us stories about everybody and everything from Martha Reeves, who she saw days ago, to Justin Beiber. We didn't want to overstay our welcome, but she never rushed us and made us feel quite comfortable. After asking my sister, Dije, about her music scholarship [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-OnMuik45Yg&feature=feedlik)and her plans for the future, she dropped some serious advice on both Dije and myself.
She said that whatever we do, do it with passion and conviction. When Dije told Bettye that she was beginning piano lessons, Bettye said that was one of the few, if only regrets that she had in life....never mastering an instrument. [[Qwannie exclusive here). Then she told Dije to practice practice and practice both the voice and the piano......and don't "half ass" it. Dije has practiced on her keyboards more in the past few weeks than she did all last year. I think it sunk in.
It was an experience of a lifetime....one that will stick with me forever. Again Special Thanks to everyone who helped to make this possible. And thanks to Pops for editing and helping me to write this. ShoutOuts to the SDF Chicago Bettye Lavette crew [[Pops mentioned yall to Bettye). And thank you for reading my first concert review