just getting back in from seeing Fantasia, Kem and Rasaan Patterson.. Fantasia gave the best performance of the three, including a wonderful cover of purple Rain that got her a huge ovation from the sold out crowd. Whoever the guy in her band is that played the guitar..big props to him because he played Prince's solo down to the note. I was concerned at how these three artists would mesh together in one concert, but it turned out very well. If you've only seen Fantasia on American Idol...you'd be surprised at her stage presence--it was very good.

Her stage presence on AI was good. She knows how to work a crowd.

meltwithu said:

Are you serious, I want to see this!!!!

I really like her.

I think her voice is different I really like her-- ecspecially her new song that's my shit right there! "If you don't want me then don't talk to me" that's the line of the year - I may change my signature today!

SweetKreme said:

Free Yourself is indeed a cut. It hit very close to home for me.

Stymie said:

I hated to take it there but I just gotta be honest!

wow, that sounds like it would be cool 2 hear..soundclip anyone?

I seriously want her album even after hearing it and not buying it.

I love Fantasia and think she is the most interesting of everyone whom got picked.

just to add a few more things about the performance...the it was a very diverse crowd in terms of age range...i would say 20 years old to 70+..the younger crowd to see fantasia, the older half to see kem...but what she did was reach back and pull out some great cover tunes (rock steady/aretha franklin, tell me something good/rufus and chaka and of course purple rain...this allowed the older crowd to have some kind of postive reaction to her. some of the older folks were saying they didn't like all her "screaming"..but it was very similar to how patti labelle used to give a show (she even took her shoes off, like patti used to do)...
but back to purple rain..the majority of the crowd went nuts when they heard the first few chords..and i was surprised that that many people outside of a prince concert would react that way...i would say 95% of the crowd (pavillion and lawn) waved their arms side to side just like we all do at the Prince shows, and even chimed in with woo-hoo-a-woo-a-woohs and the right time!

the issue i had with kem's performance was that every song sounded just alike...although he had a nice band. he sounded very good, but there was just nothing there to break up the monotony of his set... about 20% of the crowd left within half an hour into the set and when he came back for his encore..most people just kept filing out of the pavillion. he could have really helped his show out by doing a few cover tunes.

rasaan patterson was first and was pretty much ignored his whole 30 minute set by the crowd...again he plugged his new cd so much and built a lot of his set around it that most people were standing out by the water or at the concession stands.

meltwithu said:

Yeah Kem wudda put me 2 sleep
Like him, but not for too long. No funk included? Not tolerable.

paisleypark4 said:

Kem's music is basically for baby-making. But he is indeed very talented. He writes, produces and arranges his own music. I guess Kem is a nice balance to Fatansia's Patti Labelle - like exploits, as Kem is a more mellow - laid back in the cut type singer.

Meltwithu, are you in Chicago by chance?

no, i'm in Baltimore, MD, home of the NFL Baltimore Ravens (fortunately, their colors are purple and black, which i quickly use as my excuse to have two purple bedrooms and a purple bathroom