Concert Reviews:
Coca Cola Starplex Amphitheatre, Dallas, USA
When: July, 7th, 1995
Reporter: Prashant Jyothi
Publication: N/A (Mailed directly to F.L.P.)

SEAL
Coca Cola Starplex Amphitheatre, July 7, 1995

Having seen several concerts of a variety of musical styles and artists, Seal's show here in Dallas clearly stands out and atop of the rest. Simply put, he has an incredible stage prescence and persona that even a first time concert-goer would appreciate. My wife and the female friend with us were clearly drawn by his magnetism. We cleverly swapped our lawn seats for some unused covered seats by using some friend's ticket stubs as entry.

Seal was draped in solid black pants and a silky, black untucked and confidently unbuttoned shirt that made his tall frame even more imposing. He was backed by a tight 4 piece band that more than kept up to the renditions of Seals album tracks as well as adding creativity to them. The drummer even played the tabla's when they played Fast Changes and the pedal steel guitar in the beginning of Deep Water was pure. The light sets reflected the moods of the individual songs. Seal opened with I'm Alive. The first half of the show was more subdued with numbers like Newborn Friend, Kiss from a Rose, Prayer for the Dying, and Don't Cry. Seal's voice was crystal clear and worked well paired with his acoustic guitar playing. Seal then kicked it up notch by playfully asking the crowd "are you ready to dance?" and then cleverly answered his own question replying "well I say 'BRING IT ON!" which he certainly did. Bring it On , Crazy, and The Beginning got the crowd moving and swaying and they stayed that way all the way through the show culminating in a psychedelic, frenetic version of Future Love Paradise. The kick-ass bass beat in that song kept it in your mind well after the show was over and had everyone screaming for another encore which regrettably never came, but whetted our appetites for his next tour.
Unfortunately I doubt we'll be able to walk up on the day of the show as we did this time for our tickets. Such is the price of fame I suppose.