Well everyone, sorry it took me so long to do this, but I figured it was still worth doing. My official excuse for taking this much time is that I've been swamped with schoolwork (we're on the quarter system and don't finish until June 15). Before I start, will someone (another Jeff, I think?) post the address Seal uses to do CU-SeeMe?

Now, to my review...but first, a little background. I had a chance to make a trip home for four days in association with the Memphis in May International Bar-b-que Cooking contest, an even that draws over 300 teams from eight different countries and brings 250,000 people to the banks of the Mississippi River in downtown Memphis. When I was making plans to come back, my father told me that he had seen Seal tickets on sale in the newspaper for the Saturday night the contest ended. Seal played at Mud Island Amphitheatre, a stone's throw from the contest grounds. The night before the show, I was at the contest with my dad, and he was talking with a friend of his from a radio station in Memphis, who happened to mention that he would be backstage for the concert. I immediately told him what a big Seal fan I was, and I tried to grease him for backstage passes. Unfortunately, he was *very* drunk (not that I was all that sober!), and he didn't remember to check for me, so I didn't get them. But, I did have 10th row, just to the right of the stage.

(Incidentally, I had e-mailed Seal and invited him to the BBQ contest since I was on a team, but he didn't reply. I'm sure he was busy, touring and all :) Plus, I thought he might be a vegetarian...anyone know?)

After a nice afternoon on the river, my date and I walked over to Mud Island for the concert at 8. Des'ree was already playing when we got there, but I wasn't all that disappointed I missed most of her set. I know this isn't the place to criticize people who like her, and I guess I can see why they do, but she just doesn't do anything for me...certainly not as much as Seal does. What crowd there was while she was playing seemed to enjoy her, though. I spent most of my time leafing through the little programs they gave out. The Seal bio was the one Gareth has included in the FAQ -- someone must have been checking out FLP!

As for the concert itself...pure magic. I was amazed at how crystal-clear Seal's voice was through the huge speakers not more than 50 feet in front of us. The people in my section seemed to be pretty big fans, because they knew most of the words. My date knew PFTD and Crazy, but nothing else...after a while, I was beginning to wish I had brought someone else. Also, the crowd was a good mixture of young and old, black and white, "alternative" and "mainstream" -- I was pleasantly surprised. I really don't have that much more to add in terms of musical discussion, and I didn't have a pen, so I couldn't take notes, but I tried to remember the setlist. Here it is, as closely as I can remember -- all the songs are correct, and the order is close to correct, although I'm not sure about a few in the middle of the set:

I'm Alive
Wild
Deep Water
People Asking Why
Dreaming in Metaphors
Don't Cry
(A song I'm not familiar with, but since I haven't gotten any singles yet, I believe it was Blues in E and I just didn't know it.)
Kiss From a Rose
Whirlpool
Newborn Friend
Bring It On
Killer
Crazy
Encore:
Prayer for the Dying
Future Love Paradise

Comments: As mentioned before, almost all the songs had a different arrangement than apppeared on the albums, giving each one a breath of fresh air. Most noticable were the chorus of Wild in a different key and a slightly different chorus for Whirlpool. Of the slower songs, the highlights were I'm Alive, Deep Water, and Don't Cry (especially the guitar work in the latter). The band was great, and I'm not questioning Seal's judgment at all, but I think most of his time was spent picking them. Thus, there weren't any truly outstanding backup singers, so some of the intricate harmonies (Don't Cry, KFAR) couldn't be reproduced in concert. But, as I said, the altered versions were great.

And the upbeat renditions of the last five songs were incredible. The only problem for me was a personal one...I had failed to take into account the fact that my date is more reserved than a Buckingham Palace guard. In fact, the Palace guard probably changes expression more on the job than this girl. When things started to get really raucous, I finally had to get up and dance (in my own particular...idiom), and she refused to budge. No matter...I still had a great evening.

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed after I thought I might get passes and ended up not doing so, but the show was one of the most intimate live performances I've ever seen. As someone else on the group said, don't complain about the ticket prices -- pay it and go see the man, because it's worth it. Once again, sorry for the delay in posting, and sorry for the length, but hey, I'm a journalist...it's my job to be long-winded!

Seal fan forever,
Geoff