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Concert Reviews: Mann Music Center, Philadelphia, Pennsilvania, USA
The following are observations and reactions to a series of three concerts I have attended featuring Seal and Des'Ree over the past three weeks. I regret that this review will lack many details that will interest folks, but my mind was not bent on reviewing, rather enjoying and participating in the experience. Hopefully, others will be able to fill in some of the holes.
I was fortunate to have seen Seal at 2 outdoor venues and 1 indoor. On May 26, I was at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia, an attractive indoor/outdoor bandstand that seated approximately 1300 people under the overhang with lawn space behind for several hundred more. I sat approximately 70 rows back in the center. On June 2, I sat 10th row center at New Jersey's Garden State Art Center which is similar in layout to the Mann Center. Finally, on June 6, I was at New York City's Paramount Theatre sitting in the rear mezzanine left. One excellent aspect of the outdoor stadia was that as the first act began at dark by the time she was done (equipment moved, etc.) and Seal began, it was dark and the spectacular visual effects of Seal's show were enhanced by the open, fresh air and the general lack of unwanted reflections or boxiness that can plague indoor venues (the Paramount suffered from the latter, BTW).
I will be brief: Des'Ree did a 45 minute long set that included her hit "You Gotta Be..." and a number of other tunes that some of the fans seemed to recognize. Generally, I enjoyed much of what Des'Ree did. A lovely, deep voice with adequate (but not remarkable) song-writing (a mixture of New Age and Soul that sounded a little too much like an English Motown re-invention). Her voice, however, was strong and unfaltering delivered over a competent (though, again, unremarkable) instrumental accompaniment (5-string bass, drums/percussion, acoustic guitar, and 2 keyboardists). Several songs were repetitive and a lack of any backing vocals or much timbral variation made the music seem more uniform than it had to be. As a side note, at the second viewing, "You Gotta Be..." had just hit number one on the charts and the crowd seemed beside themselves over the exciting "stats" (perhaps more so than the music?).
I'm ashamed to say it, but even after 3 viewings, I couldn't catch the names of Seals band members (well, I could hear them, but I couldn't write them down and thus they were not retained by my eminently fallible memory). Overall, the four band members (aided from time to time by Seal on what looked like a Fender Hollow Body (looked like an orangy maple color) and another acoustic/ electric) were exceptional. Their approach seemed to be to capture the timbral moods of the recorded tracks while not allowing themselves to be slaves to the records. One of the dangers of working with Trevor Horn: "how in the world can you pull off that stuff live?" I thought to myself before the first show. "Oh... cool", I said afterwards. The instrumentation was as follows:
While I am not positive about the exact order in the middle of the set, the following is pretty close:
I'm Alive ***encore***
Prayer for the Dying ** Seal did not play Newborn Friend at the NYC gig
As Des'Ree and band left the stage, their gear was removed from in front of the black curtain that served as a backdrop for her band. When the lights went down for Seal's band, a lush keyboard chord wafted through the air until the curtains parted and there they all were, with Seal himself standing in the middle of the stage. Even after the third viewing, the opening of the curtains was a thrilling surge. For much of the evening, Seal was center stage, but he was not frequently lit by a spotlight. He was easily visible, but he wasn't under a microscope all the time, which I think was well done. Seal's mic stand was directly under a vari-light for the evening and he was often lit by many small circles of green, blue or purple. I'm sure there were more colors, but you get the idea. As for the stage, the accuracy of the playing and the singing was certainly bolstered by the considerable monitor system. For those not familiar with monitoring, this is generally a sound system for the sole purpose of having the singers and musicians be able to hear what they are singing/playing. Anyway, I believe there were 2 large side fills hanging on each side of the stage with numerous floor monitors. The stage itself had the drums on a riser, while the guitarist stood to the left, basist standing behind and a little to the right of Seal, with the keyboardist to the far right with two banks of keys at right angles with a rack of (I presume) sound modules and effects. Seal's Guitars and mic's were wireless. At the rear of the stage was a white scrim. Just in front of it were 6 or 7 suspended "cylinders" of translucent, white fabric that were at times back-lit, painted with projected liquid light patterns from something like vari-lights, and bathed in orange and red floods. The colors and textures were very sensual and organic. The audience was at times bathed in yellow or blue light and there were other shapes and "moods" so that the show flowed smoothly from start to end while each song appeared to exist in its own universe. I will never listen to "I'm Alive" again without seeing Seal with arms outstretched singing "Your face in the crowd, You're my future". I still can't stop singing that song (out loud, too! I must be annoying :-). Anyway, it was one of the beautiful things I've ever heard. Seal moved easily around the stage during instrumental breaks and smiled thoughfully (amusedly?) at the pleading, surging, mesmerized crowd. "Wild" came next. The most striking thing about this arrangement was the different vocal melody during the chorus "Wild laces with Diamonds...". Instead of the mid-register melody he sang on the record, Seal sang a much higher part while the 2 backing vocalists sang mid-register parts. Thus the original melody was not heard, and I missed it. On the last night I saw him, Seal's voice was a little tired and the high register of this chorus was a little strained and perhaps a little flat. Overall, though, it was wonderful. Especially the falsetto at "You are the best thing in my life" "Deep Water" was really gratifying as it had Seal singing with just his guitar at the beginning. The crowd really went crazy here. I will talk a little bit about the crowd later, as it really added to the experience. I must say that I would have liked to have seen 2 additional vocalists for some of the arrangements and "Deep Water" is one song on which they would have made quite a difference. Otherwise, this was strong and inspiring. "Killer" exhibited some of only prolonged improvisation of the evening, with Seal doing a Middle-Eastern sounding, sinuous vocal improvisation. With the subtle lighting and the lush improvised background, this song floated quiescently along until the full band raged forward: "So you want...to be free..". Seal also did some nice things with digital delay/echo on his voice. He seemed like he was having fun here. I think the changeability of this arrangement kept it very fresh for him and his players. Right down to the final growl of: "Racism in among future kings can only lead to no good." the dynamics of this song were heightened by its expansiveness and mystery. I've always marveled at the width of the vocal range encompassed in "Kiss From a Rose". It was evident in concert as the vocal performance was not as seamless as the studio cut. However, the beauty of the melody itself was heightened by it's impassioned delivery over a slow rhumba-like rhythm provided by the drummer on hand-percussion. The tempo was slower than on the record. It seemed as if a large number of women rose to their feet during this song. Like the numerous priceless moments throughout these evenings, one of the most powerful yet most difficult to describe was the unison vocal after: "My power, my pleasure, my pain". >>>>>>Ba---by<<<<<< just unbelievable in its poignancy. This song was a show stopper at all three performances. Another such poignant moment emerged during "Don't Cry" near the end when all instruments were silent and all three vocalists took up: "Don't be so hard on yourself". The only cut that I had never heard before at these gigs was "Blues in E". During the first show, Seal spoke almost no words the entire evening which was a little disappointing, but before this tune, he asked: "how about some blues?". This tune was very upbeat and well lit as each thunderous "Hold on" was lit by flooded orange and red backdrops to the beat. Very effective. I hope I can get a copy of that track somewhere. "Whirlpool" started with the three vocalists singing the chords that appear at the end of the studio cut over a brooding accompaniment. This cut also featured a good amount of space and improvisation. The studio cut captures a certain amount of the freedom displayed at the gig, but I thought this song, more than any of the others, actually worked better in concert than on the disk. I remember marveling during "Newborn Friend" at what a deceivingly simple melody it has in the chorus on the one hand, and that on the other hand, singing those wide intervals cleanly is not easy. I can remember his face well as he sang "maybe that will keep us together": serenity, calm. I also remember thinking: "how the fuck does he do that?" referring both to the singing and of the conceiving of such a melody. A little awe floating to the surface here. Not a soul remained sitting during "Bring it On". Seal asked the crowd: "do you wanna dance" or some such thing and then his voice cut through the evening air: "Bring it On!" The band seemed to be at full throttle for this tune and the lights were also very active, shooting through the audience in different colors. There was a lot of dancing for this tune. At the New Jersey show, I was sitting quite near the front and (unfortunately) next to 2 young women that had smuggled several little airline-type bottles of gin into the show. By the time Seal took the stage, these women, and another dozen like them were shrieking and screaming and behaving just like drunk 16-year-old girls do: "silly" is probably the word. In any case, during a break in the set, Seal looked out upon the crowd and asked "So, what goes on in New Jersey?" The girls responded with squeaks and howls and Seal wryly added "a lot of screaming, I expect" to general laughter. Although at the beginning of the concert, Seal seemed unsure whether or not he really was happy to be in New Jersey, by the end of the concert, the crowd had apparently won him over in their enthusiastic response. At the end of the concert, he seemed totally engaged and passionate. In "Dreaming in Metaphors", the line: "Tell me what's going on with your life" emerged from a face squinting from emotion and perhaps the memory of pain. An incredible song in concert (or anywhere). As the organ part of "Crazy" began, people jumped to their feet. I remember the drummer the most in this tune. What a wonderful energy he brought to the whole affair! Such simplicity and vitality. The entire crowd was singing through most of this tune (as they were for much of the concert). During the first chorus after "But we're never gonna survive", the whole crowd sang "unless", but Seal sang "Watching the world go crazy" to general applause. The rest of the song was just a joy and cannot be adequately described. GO SEE THIS PERSON!!! Seal ended his set with Crazy and played the same encore all three concerts. "Prayer for the Dying" was sang by the audience through the entire song, even down to some of the vocal ornaments from the record. Pretty wild. What can I say? This song was beautifully done. With many of the songs throughout the evening, Seal had added new introductions that featured related chords, progressions and textures to the song he was about to launch into. The effect was that the beginning of many of the tunes came out as a welcome surprise. Seal even added some vocal parts to some of the tunes as an introduction. "Future Love Paradise" had a nice, prolonged intro, such that when Seal came in with "Well if only you could see them" there was a gush of appreciation and excitement through the crowd. I would characterize the performance and arrangement of this piece as generous, engaging and very imaginative: the perfect closing piece.
I am taking a few sentences to relate to you my reaction to the crowd, since it certainly added an element to the evening. The crowd was varied to an unusually high degree. A large number of women attending, gay couples (both male and female), blacks, whites, and a good number of musicians, I'll warrant. There were children there with parents or grandparents. Large collections of gay men and women having a grand time. Black folks rocking out, white folks singing their souls out and varying degrees of proficiency at dancing. No real disturbances of any kind beyond people complaining about people who wouldn't sit down. I believe I fairly stunned my wife by screaming my head off at the end of each song and in pleading for another encore. I stunned myself, actually: I haven't played the ardent fan in years, and I couldn't help myself.
I, or course, am not a reviewer. I am sure that I have probably scrambled the set order and may have even assigned some events to the wrong songs, but I was compelled to write this review because I simply can not get this music and these performances out of my mind. Although I have included some criticisms, they are all fairly minor complaints (probably included so I don't look like someone too eager to be pleased). I have long been a musician, singer and songwriter (and a fairly jaded one at that) and yet for me, all aspects of these concerts contained that thread of magic that runs through so many elements of what this young man does. If I can someday write and perform songs that approach the intuition, the sensuality and the inspiration that flows through Seal's work, I will be a happy man, indeed. Until that time, I remain Your humble servant,
George Demarest
I had the blessed opportunity to see Seal at the Mann in Philadelphia, PA on May 23. I have both albums & his "unpluggeed video." For those of you that don't have it, you should get it just for the piano version of Violet alone. Anyway, I got my tickets about two weeks before the show & still wound up w/ 2 front row seats. The Mann is an open air concert hall w/ covered seats & a pretty good lawn. I couldn't tell you how many it seats, but I was the in the first row out of the orchestra pit. The show was fantastic! His stage presence was commanding and he captured the audience's attention with the slightest move. The light show was very simple, yet compelling, with a number of long draping circular curtains that caught the jelled lights very well. The only dissapointing thing was that he didn't do Violet. which I was really hopping he would do. It actually appeared that he switched into another set half way through the show that was more upbeat & dance, asking to the crowd if they were ready & believe me they were. I bought the green Seal shirt @ $25 (ouch). sweats went as high as $50. Desree on the other hand was kind of dissapointing. I have her CD & I like it, but band was mediocre at best. Of mention was the guitarist who played accoustic throughout & the drummer who made some of the ugliest faces I've ever seen! I've seen Dionne Farris & liked her show much better. Her musicians were IMHO much more talented. Oh well, too bad you're not playing in Seattle this summer Seal, that's were I am now. A cause for the long wait for the revue.
Paul Jackson |