Chrisette Michele @ BB Kings NYC
Chrisette Michele performed at BB Kings in NYC last night and she gave a stellar performance. Honestly I didn't expect anything else. You know how it is when you see a favorite performer of yours for the 1st time. There is always a bit of apprehension. At least it's that way in my case. Maybe I just don't give artists a lot of credit outside of the booth. That could be because a lot of artists don't sound good outside of the both. Let me rephrase. In the booth they sound fantastic outside on stage they sound like any other singer from a local church choir. Well that def is not the case with Ms. Chrisette Michelle. She's a raw talent that's above average. I've been a fan since day 0 when all fans had to work on was her myspace page, a few floating singles and pics of her rocking her short natural do. Loved it! Her 1st album "I Am" is an instant soul classic with so many standout singles you almost wished she wasn't signed to a major and allowed more freedom to release songs/videos on a more consistent basis. Being that she technically is only 1 album deep (new album drops May 5) she relied on those classics from album 1 throughout the night. She stepped out looking flawless rocking her new short mo hawk look that really complements her face and white rhinestone filled jacket. Anything below the belt I have no clue about because "standing room only" means I didn't rush to get there super early to get a good spot and stand for the next 4 hours or so. I played the back for this one.
She started the show with her current single Epiphany which was a surprise to me because I figured she'd end the set with her current hit. She serenaded the crowd through her hits and shared cute stories about each of them from her ex boyfriends (which according to her were all in NYC), her parent's marriage (27 years and still together, Black Love! They were also at the show), and being chastised in church "Fix ya face!!!". Songs included Be OK, Joy, Best of Me, Golden, her next single Blame Me, as well as 2 new songs from the upcoming album What You Do (actions speak louder than words vibe) and Our Song which is a beautiful love song. She sounded amazing. Flawless and effortless. No need for extravagant moves necessary. Her voice provides plenty for the ears to rest upon. Notes of jazz, gospel and modern day r&b are woven into a beautiful marriage with each note sung.
Random moment of the evening was a young woman walking on stage to hug her. Chrisette obviously knew who she was and was happy to see her but the crowd didn't seem to have a clue. I didn't have on my glasses so I didn't even try to hazard a guess. She finally gives her the mic. The mystery woman is D Woodz (formerly of the now defunct Danity Kane). Ah ha moment. She professed her love for Chrisette, pumped CM"s album and kept it moving. Back to the show. Towards the end the band and backup singers packed up leaving Chrisette on stage with only her keyboard player. This was the song requests portion of the show she announced. 1st song thrown out was If I Had My Way. She slowed it down, jazzed it up and gave me a renewed love for the song. Next up Mr. Radio. Shock to me because that's one of my least favorite songs on her album but it was def a crowd fav. When finished she announced her release date once again and stated that they were telling her that her time was up and that she had to go. Wished everyone a good night and exited stage left. *confused looks* I figured it wasn't the end so as the non believers began to make their exits I moved up and sure enough she returned for a final song. Let's Rock closed out the show to the crowd's approval.
During her set she also announced that her album would be sold as a deluxe edition including a DVD with her performing poetry with a live band. That's what I'm talking about!!! That will def get someone like me to purchase a hard copy over Itunes or burning a copy of one of the promotional discs I might just happen to find lying around the office. She even performed a poem which I believe is entitled Appreciate Me but don't quote me. I don't remember her stating the name of it but nonetheless the poem was excellent and got me very excited about her other poems in this DVD.
Judging from the vibe of the songs played while the crew was setting up it seems as though she's looking to preserve her soulful, sultry appeal while dare, I say it, sliding over into the pop "this might get played on something other than an urban station" market but that's going off of hearing the songs over the ambiance of an underground jazz club. Whatever the target for this next project I will be going into a record store (do those still exist) to purchase her new album Epiphany on May 5th.
FAIL. I left my video cam at home so the Blackberry cam had to do smh.
CM and D WOODZ
She started the show with her current single Epiphany which was a surprise to me because I figured she'd end the set with her current hit. She serenaded the crowd through her hits and shared cute stories about each of them from her ex boyfriends (which according to her were all in NYC), her parent's marriage (27 years and still together, Black Love! They were also at the show), and being chastised in church "Fix ya face!!!". Songs included Be OK, Joy, Best of Me, Golden, her next single Blame Me, as well as 2 new songs from the upcoming album What You Do (actions speak louder than words vibe) and Our Song which is a beautiful love song. She sounded amazing. Flawless and effortless. No need for extravagant moves necessary. Her voice provides plenty for the ears to rest upon. Notes of jazz, gospel and modern day r&b are woven into a beautiful marriage with each note sung.
Random moment of the evening was a young woman walking on stage to hug her. Chrisette obviously knew who she was and was happy to see her but the crowd didn't seem to have a clue. I didn't have on my glasses so I didn't even try to hazard a guess. She finally gives her the mic. The mystery woman is D Woodz (formerly of the now defunct Danity Kane). Ah ha moment. She professed her love for Chrisette, pumped CM"s album and kept it moving. Back to the show. Towards the end the band and backup singers packed up leaving Chrisette on stage with only her keyboard player. This was the song requests portion of the show she announced. 1st song thrown out was If I Had My Way. She slowed it down, jazzed it up and gave me a renewed love for the song. Next up Mr. Radio. Shock to me because that's one of my least favorite songs on her album but it was def a crowd fav. When finished she announced her release date once again and stated that they were telling her that her time was up and that she had to go. Wished everyone a good night and exited stage left. *confused looks* I figured it wasn't the end so as the non believers began to make their exits I moved up and sure enough she returned for a final song. Let's Rock closed out the show to the crowd's approval.
During her set she also announced that her album would be sold as a deluxe edition including a DVD with her performing poetry with a live band. That's what I'm talking about!!! That will def get someone like me to purchase a hard copy over Itunes or burning a copy of one of the promotional discs I might just happen to find lying around the office. She even performed a poem which I believe is entitled Appreciate Me but don't quote me. I don't remember her stating the name of it but nonetheless the poem was excellent and got me very excited about her other poems in this DVD.
Judging from the vibe of the songs played while the crew was setting up it seems as though she's looking to preserve her soulful, sultry appeal while dare, I say it, sliding over into the pop "this might get played on something other than an urban station" market but that's going off of hearing the songs over the ambiance of an underground jazz club. Whatever the target for this next project I will be going into a record store (do those still exist) to purchase her new album Epiphany on May 5th.
FAIL. I left my video cam at home so the Blackberry cam had to do smh.
CM and D WOODZ
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