Well, well, well. The last time I saw an artist that was such an integral part of the soundtrack to my childhood was probably at Lauryn Hill a few years ago, and similarly to that show, seeing someone in the flesh, playing these songs that you know so well, that take you back to so many different moments in your life - was very surreal.
Having six incredible albums to choose from, Erykah Badu definitely wasn't short of material and if I'm honest, she could've just played through Baduizm in its entirety and she wouldn't have heard people complain, but the more I think about the setlist, the more perfect it feels to me. She played me through some of my absolute favourites and delivered them with such ease. To be honest I think that was the most striking thing about her set - yes, the level of performance was outstanding, band and all - but my goodness did she make it look easy. As talented as the band was, they could've comfortably overshadowed an amateur, but everytime Badu's voice crooned above the music there was no questioning whose show it was. Stand outs for me have to be "Appletree", "Soldier", "Danger", "Love Of My Life", "Back In The Day", and "Out My Mind, Just In Time", and that's the narrowed down version.
At one point during her set Badu walked through her album roster speaking about the thoughts behind each one and whom they were most intended to reach. As she went through the list it was crystal clear that she'd succeeded in reaching all those intended as heads nodded in agreement and "90's babies" piped up. Being a 90's baby myself I thought to myself that it's insane to know that just after I was born, Erykah was making music
for me to listen to then, and resonate with 20 something years later. I'm not sure how many names we have buzzing around in today's mainstream that will be able to have such an effect, but I expect that another 20 something years down the line, my children will be bopping along to Baduizm and I'll still be finding new meanings in Erykah's lyrics.
As for the set itself, yes, there were some things that left room for want - the timing was off, meaning that Erykah had to cut her last song "Soldier" short and couldn't come out for an encore due to the venue curfew, and the heat was very intense in the arena. However, despite leaving the crowd wanting more, and the exhausting level of heat; this didn't dampen fans' spirits, cheers and applause never faltered, and speaking for myself, it's not a night that'll be forgotten any time soon.
Overall Rating - 8/10
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