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Sade In Concert: A Sultry, Soulful, Commanding Presence By Mary Houlihan mhoulihan@suntimes.com August 6, 2011 1:58AM
Katy Perry and Lady Gaga scream for attention. Sade quietly demands it.
And we all obey. That’s how it worked Friday night as the Nigerian-born, London-bred singer took a stroll through her accomplished songbook in the first of three performances at the United Center. In her first appearance in Chicago in 10 years, Sade allowed her diehard fans to bask in the seductive strains of her sultry, jazzy soul.
“We’re going to make up for the 10 years,” she told the cheering crowd. “Thanks for keeping the torch alive.”
The 22-song set included tracks off her 2010 album “Soldier of Love” and many of her standards — “The Sweetest Taboo,” “Your Love Is King” and “Smooth Operator.”
At 52, Sade continues to have one of the most evocative and versatile voices in popular music. For this tour, she performs a smooth blend of songs that play perfectly off one another.
Her longtime band — Stuart Matthewman (guitar, sax), Andrew Hale (keyboards) and Paul S. Denman (bass) — never took a wrong step.
An ever-present bass line/drum beat provided the sensual heartbeat for the evening of love songs filled with pain, loss and resilience. Matthewman and Denman traded crowd-pleasing solos on “Smooth Operator.” And versatile backup singers Leroy Osbourne and Tony Momrelle added depth to several songs.
Usually elegant and mysterious, Sade seemed more playful this time around. She danced around the stage, accenting the songs with the amazing grace of her personalized dance rhythms, a blend of Middle Eastern and African-inspired movement with a bit of bossa nova thrown in for good measure
Sade’s stage production, created by Sophie Muller and Baz Halpin, is timeless and sophisticated but also very cool and very effective. They manage to make the barnlike United Center feel like a small intimate club.
A large video screen engulfing the back of the stage provided a visual narrative for many of the songs.
A vista of New York City at night was the backdrop for the fabulously evocative “Smooth Operator.” And for the heart-wrenching “Pearls,” a song about the plight of woman in Somalia, a massive sun burned bright yellow to blazing red.
Neo-soul crooner John Legend was a perfect choice to open the show. He performed a powerhouse 60-minute set that ranged from Adele’s gospel-tinged “Rolling in the Deep” to the horn-fueled R&B of “Hard Times” and the classic soul of “Slow Drive.”
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"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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Three weeks to go!| - E-mail - orgNote - Report post to moderator |
You can take a black guy to Nashville from right out of the cotton fields with bib overalls, and they will call him R&B. You can take a white guy in a pin-stripe suit who’s never seen a cotton field, and they will call him country. ~ O. B. McClinton | |
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I'm getting ready right now. | |
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"My heart goes ba-boom ba-boom!"
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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Nathan and I are sitting in the second row tonight!!!!!  | |
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Prince, in you I found a kindred spirit...Rest In Paradise. | |
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"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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Lucky devil! 
But its okay...I got row 8 club seats next to the stage for a show in three weeks. I hope you have a 
good time! 
Be sure to give a review on heah | |
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I'm going tonight!!! 7:30p Rose Garden Arena, Portland!
Best thing is -- just be PURE fluke -- a coupla weeks ago I put in a google search for "cheap sade tickets rose garden" and lo, and behold GROUPON was having a sale that afternoon! I bought two tix for $30/ea in the 200 section!!!!!
I. CANNOT. WAIT!!!!!!
Would love to read your review, Ivy! | |
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Have fun! Let us know how your experience went. You lucked out on those tix. I see her next week! "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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Stevie Wonder = EARTH
Prince = WIND Chaka Khan = FIRE Sade = WATER the ELEMENTS of MUSIC | |
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It was a dream come true and an unforgettable experience.
"Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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One more week! "Funkyslsistah… you ain't funky at all, you just a little ol' prude"!
"It's just my imagination, once again running away with me." | |
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Six more days to go! "Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything." --Plato
https://youtu.be/CVwv9LZMah0 | |
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