D'Angelo - Black Messiah (2014)

does get awkward when shes singing parts of 1000 deaths and charade. :|

32.24 underlining my pamplemousse misgivings about the door
which, again, D'Angelo can pull off but not these guys

i think dangelos songs are so wedded to his vocal style (and also as they arent always that 'robust' songwriting wise) its kinda pointless anyone trying to cover them

Who else is doing this tonight? Jord?

how was it forks

yeah forks

First and foremost it was LOUD; my #unnamedsource informed me D showed up very late for soundcheck (i was shocked, shocked) and it showed. I spend a lot of time seeing shows standing right by the amps so i'm not easily impressed by sound overkill but this was near Sunn O))) levels. It's always possible my seat position had something to do with it but I got arena level sound in a venue where the music carries too well for that volume to be necessary or desirable. While the band was universally exceptional, I found the mix muddy and nearly unreasonably bass heavy; good as Palladino was, he could be oppressive. I was barely able to make out the backup singers or the keyboards through most of the show and there were several times where it took D's first vocal for me (and, based on audience reaction, most everyone) to realize just what song was playing.

Second, and equally important, D'Angelo sounded EXCELLENT. He was in prime voice: no butterflies, no trepidation and no crowd patter (though, to be fair, he opened with the first four songs or so more or less in the dark... starting with "Prayer" was a pretty ballsy move), dapping the front row, totally driving the band, showing astonishing range and charisma. I went with my lady, who had minimal exposure to D's music outside of my obsessive listening habits, and she left immensely impressed with him as a performer. He did most of Messiah in the first half of the show (no "Betray My Heart" sadly), leaving older hits for the second half.

Third, it was long (about two and a half hours, with two lengthy encores) and occasionally sloppy with exploratory, loopy funk jams that sometimes wobbled without landing. That was a fair tradeoff for the truly memorable moments when they soared and exploded: a ten minute attack on One Mo'Gin, the same amount of time for Sugah Daddy, fifteen minutes on Back to the Future and (the show's best moments) a completely ecstatic and southern-fried Chicken Grease followed by a knockout finale of It's Done into How Does It Feel that ended with D emptying the stage until he played alone on keyboards, leading the crowd in a singalong on the chorus.

The BK Bowl show was an intimate, stripped down living-room show with a focus on where D'Angelo's been; the Apollo concert was an over-the-top rock god jamband blowout spotlight on an artist who still has a lot more to say. Both felt important; both are gonna stick with me a long time.

caramanica came at it from a different angle but i think we kinda had similar takes
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/09/arts/music/dangelos-apollo-theater-show-featured-signature-songs-and-style.html

Cool thanks for the report
Bummer about the mix, bands need to get over their obsession with stage volume

word. do you wear earplugs at these shows, forks?

Yeah, I've been doing earplugs at basically every show I go to since about 2010 when tinnitus started seeming like a real possibility

reviews coming in:
http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6465528/dangelo-launches-second-coming-tour-with-mesmerizing-apollo-theater
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2015/02/08/inside-dangelos-triumphant-return-to-the-apollo/
http://nypost.com/2015/02/08/dangelo-brings-the-funk-to-the-apollo/

and cell phone videos are on:
http://allhiphop.com/2015/02/08/watch-dangelos-performance-at-the-apollo/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR5fiYNoiRQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMei6HOqrek
these videos making me wonder if my placement wasn't contributing at least somewhat to bass overload; was not this clear from where i was sitting... which i think was just about the same distance on mezzanine, just stage left not right.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJP0B0YeBeY

huh, i think it maybe WAS audience placement because this must've been shot by the guy in the row in front of me; it's exactly the angle we were at
This is what the show sounded like to me (though with MUCH louder bass); passable but muddy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk5jf_zLvAM

anyways, i def want a board tape really really bad

hi, Jason King:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2015/02/10/385243069/dangelo-at-the-apollo-we-were-all-here-before

Seeing him and his band live this month changed my whole perspective on music.

Jesus, NPR, even Prince wouldn't go that purple.

This time last week I was on the tube en route to seeing him at Hammersmith Apollo. It was one of the very best shows I have ever seen in my life, and if I ever get to take that funny pill from the Kids In The Hall movie Brain Candy, I wouldn't be upset if it looped me forever in that epic jam on Sugah Daddy.

Love D'Angelo, but I wonder if it's the general lack of awesome live acts that is magnifying his impact? He was great a decade or so ago. Is he better?

All I can say is he redefined everything to me about musicianship means after seeing him live. Everything about the show sent me into a trance. I'd seen him on youtube vids and stuff, but you can't experience it from the album itself or from videos of live shows, you have to be there and feel his voice and instruments for real hit you. The energy that comes into these songs when played live is so intense. I didn't expect how uptempo and heavy hitting it all would be, i was heavy headbanging in certain songs. These songs sound way harder live than on the album, which has a real different own vibe. D had the crowd in his palm, he wasn't behind a piano he was out from center most of the time without guitar too. He had everyone up dancing, constantly engaged the crowd, huge stage presence. He was in sync with the band like you wouldn't believe. The band were so on it, every note was hit hard. Watching Sharkey, Pino, Jesse do their stuff was such a privilege these guys are a rare breed.

The added guitars of Jesse and Sharkey in place of the horns and keys dominance of his previous bands takes his live shows to a whole new place and ratches up the energy. Combined with Pino on his bass...wow.

To get an idea of how the songs change up live watch 'shit, damn, motherfucker' live in the Montreux or Stockholm shows of 2000, it's like that, the song takes on a whole new crazy energy live that you'd not have guessed from the album version. He really is a master. Best live music I ever been to, quite embarrasingly easily.

I don't know anything about D'Angelo myself--I gave "Lady" a 7.5 in a fanzine a billion years ago (checked)--but you might be interested in Greil Marcus's Black Messiah rave the other day:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/review/how-they-got-here

youtube vids

there's no dearth of great live acts, but D'Angelo is on another plain at the moment. you really shouldn't miss him if you get a chance to see him. 1000 deaths was astonishing, like industrial funk-rock.

I last saw him in the Summer of 2012, and that was a strong, fun show. But this was something else. The Vanguard are a sinfully great group, Kendra Foster is the perfect foil for D, Black Messiah contains righteous material for them to perform. And maybe it's just the fact that the album has finally made it out there, and he can shut the door on all the 'lost album', 'wasted artist' stories, that's set him on fire at the moment.

i guess the vinyl is out in the wild....

seeing him tonight, very excited but also slightly worried that he won't show up

went to buy a copy at rough trade east tonight, they'd sold out

obv being there is diff to hearing audio, but after hearing the sweden show he did this year, i do wish he had more material by now to play. the brown sugar stuff (or the title track at least, though maybe its also to do with his not-always-improved new arrangements of old songs) doesnt really stand up in the way the last two albums do.

basically, what i mean, is when he gets a few more albums under his belt, i think his shows would be even more awesome.

anyone able to report on the sound of the vinyl? is it like a lot of modern major label vinyl releases where you're prob better off with the cd?

it's a double vinyl so I'd hope the sound was at least okay!

they should release a live ep from this tour. i remember there were plans to do a live lp for the last album, but it never came out. and i think he needs a boost - a live ep/album might help promote him right now (far as i know, the album's not selling esp well, despite all the raves).

not like the album has any other obvious singles... unless there are plans for a deluxe edition with some 'hits' on there (which i doubt), though the idea of dangelo doing a song like uptown funk sort of intrigues me.

my other idea/fantasy is hearing someone (idk, arca? someone who has a command of dance/electronic music and more crucially, R&B) remix something from the album in a radical fashion.

There were video cameras filming the Hammersmith Apollo from the audience - wonder if that will end up getting released? I hope so, as that was one of the greatest shows I have ever seen.

did anybody see him in NYC last night?

I saw him, he was incredible. From what I've heard and read about his Apollo performance, last night's was pretty similar. He played nearly everything on the new album, turning Sugah Daddy into a 15-minute James Brown jam, and combining both Back to the Futures during the first encore. The first encore was probably the best part of his set, four songs, all fast, starting with Lady, morphing into Left and Right, then seguing into Back to the Future and ending the encore with an amazing version of Chicken Grease. His second encore was slower, starting with an extended version of 'Til It's Done and closing the show with a 15-minute Untitled. During Untitled he did the thing where he dismisses his band members one at a time until it was just him and Pino then just him on the piano.

The and was amazing and D was full of energy, his voice does not lose any of its power live. He spent most of the show in frontman mode though he did play guitar on The Charade and the keys on Untitled and the beginning of Sugah Daddy. Jesse Johnson and Pino were incredible, obviously.

Great show, one of the best I've seen in some time.

During Untitled he did the thing where he dismisses his band members one at a time until it was just him and Pino then just him on the piano.

This totally ruled at the Apollo show

sounds like it was a straight reprise of the apollo show. good times.

anyone get the vinyl? how's the pressing?

is there a 1 LP option

I think it's 2 but it's only 18 on Amazon

I grabbed the vinyl from Amoeba Berkeley. They wiped away the top row of the end-caps closest to the register to display solely this album. Double record, with gatefold sleeve, and the booklet is an 8 page full-size job that just squeaks into the cover, big photos, lyrics, credits. No groove-cramming concerns, the longest side is like 17 minutes. Download code printed right into the booklet instead of a paper scrap. It's RCA, but not Dynaflex nor any 180gm thing, totally manageable average feeling double record from the 70s. Spun it all probably three times since getting it yesterday, and it's not worn out its welcome whatsoever. Whatever integrity in the liners remains the same about recording to tape with analog equipment, but there's no mention about special vinyl mastering. It sounds fantastic in any case. Betray My Heart is a joy to behold on wax. I'd jump on a copy if you're a record collector person. Since I perceive the vibe to remain constant throughout the album, I look forward to randomizing my starting playback amongst each quarter, as it's one of those records you can just lounge with.

sounds like it was a straight reprise of the apollo show.

And exactly how he ended his 2000 tour.

thanks specterist!

hilton als just passed through spotify friends playing d'angelo's prayer and i did not even know we were connected

I know Voodoo is a perfect record and is probably objectively better but ever since the night I stayed up late and listened to the 2xLP version of this headphones, it's been gradually revealing many of its secrets to me, and it's downright supernatural. Like, I keep swearing there are things being added to the mix every time I listen. Sure, I'm often stoned out of my gourd when I'm listening, but not every time.

Only bad thing about this record is that when it's over, 95% of music sounds like some bullshit in comparison; my iTunes went right to Dadawa after "Another Life" and I was all "the fuck outta here with that"