from USA Today

NEW ORLEANS – The Essence Musical Festival's empowerment mission was in full force Saturday as headliners Mary Mary, Ledisi and closing act Mary J. Blige commanded the main stage on the second night of the three night run. Though their messages were sometimes blurred by the painfully loud sound system in the cavernous Superdome, the force of the music carried the day. USA TODAY's Jerry Shriver captured these highlights from the nation's largest R&B festival:

Love weapon: Tank (36-year-old Durrell Babbs) has probably found his greatest success as a songwriter and producer, but he's an appealing crooner and recording artist as well. As the night's opening act, he warmed up the slow-to-arrive crowd with a well-received set of tunes drawn from his five studio albums (including the new This Is How IFeel) that was marred only by an obnoxiously amped-up bass mix and some slightly cheesy theatrics. The lead-up to Emergency (from 2010's Now or Never) featured a pre-recorded "911 call'' in which the "distressed'' female caller whispered "I need … you.'' "I'm on my way,'' Tank replied as he launched into the song. Guest Tyrese Gibson nearly upstaged him with the ladies with a soaring version of his hit Stay (from last year's Open Invitation). Tank tried to reclaim the momentum with closing number Please Don't Go, from 2007's Sex, Love & Pain. When he reached the line "What can I do to make you stay with me," he slowly peeled off his shirt to reveal a bare chest. Then he was gone.

Lord, lord: The more closely Mary Mary hew to their gospel roots the more effective their message. Sisters Erica and Tina Atkins-Campbell are both blessed with rich, powerhouse voices, and when they employed them on numbers in the pure contemporary gospel vein, like Shackles (Praise You) and Yesterday, they filled the dome with a shining spirit. Both women like to play tag team on the crescendos but thankfully refrain from turning it into a belt-a-thon competition. Though both women have strong personalities (as showcased in their Mary Mary reality show for We TV), Tina was the more outgoing Saturday, commenting midway through that "I ain't never been this pregnant performing onstage - my pants are falling down!" (She's due with her fourth child next month.)

They were less engaging, however, when performing songs that set the gospel message to hip hop and dance floor rhythms, Get Up and Go Get It, in particular, seemed muddled, and neither genre was well served. An exception was God In Me, which closed their set on a spirit-lifting high note.

Loud and proud: On her albums, Ledisi often favors a nuanced approach to jazz, soul and R&B, but on stage Saturday she was all blast furnace. The New Orleans-born singer/actress has a strong (bordering on shrill) soprano voice (she studied opera) that swoops up and down scales and penetrates the ears like a laser, and her band is mostly about high-energy bombast. Consequently, her set was short on subtlety and long on anthems about self-improvement and dysfunction.

During Bravo, she shook her long red-and-black dreadlocks furiously and bounced around the stage in a silvery dress that showed plenty of leg. "Don't matter who you are if you been working hard/just give yourself a round of applause/Bravo!" she wailed as her band pounded the sentiment home. With Knockin', a song she described as being about "that person at work who gets on your last nerve," she preached self-reliance: "You need to watch what you do/you got to get your head straight/live your life and do what He told you to do."

Ledisi showed her sweeter melodic side with the set-closer Pieces of Me, the title track from her 2011 album, reminding the crowd (as if they needed it) that she is "a woman not afraid to be strong, strong!"

Unbroken connection: Rarely are a performer, an event and an audience so perfectly matched as Mary J. Blige and the Essence festival. The frequent headliner returned to close out the night with a typically fierce and soul-baring show that opened with lightning bolts on the giant video screens and left her and some of the crowd in tears.

With tens of thousands of African-American women hanging on (and singing along with) every word, Blige let it all out. Every song was a confession, a testament to survival, a cry of anguish, or a defiant statement of purpose. She looked like a tough-yet-glamorous panther, adorned with her signature black shades, giant multi-hoop earrings, upper-arm tattoos and thigh-high black boots. Blige's sturdy, not showy, voice is all about controlled power, and her delivery was urgent and visceral - she tore through a half-dozen songs to start the show before taking a break. In a set brimming with emotion —Mr. Wrong and I'm Going Down were mid-set highlights — she reached the zenith with the title track from 2001's No More Drama, howling the pain and anger into the night. The sustained cheers left her speechless for a few moments, and she broke into tears before declaring her love for the audience.

Having wrung all the emotion from the room, Blige ended with a string of sweeter, uplifting songs, including Sweet Thing, Just Fine and encore Be Without You.

Essence fest: D'Angelo disappoints, but Songz is strong

(a recap of Friday night) from USA Today

NEW ORLEANS – Three notes of intrigue loomed over the annual Essence Music Festival that opened here Friday in the Superdome and was expected to draw more than 200,000 contemporary R&B fans during its three-night run:

What would former R&B star D'Angelo bring to the stage on Friday in his first major concert appearance in 12 years? Would soul queen Aretha Franklin show for her Sunday night slot, given that she cancelled her last two scheduled shows at the city's JazzFest in the last few years? And, would Sunday night closer Chaka Khan still have heft in her voice following her dramatic and highly touted recent weight loss?

The first question was resolved in disappointing fashion during Friday's seven-hour marathon. But USA TODAY music writer Jerry Shriver found plenty of dynamic performances among the 14 other acts performing on the main Superdome stage and in four intimate "Superlounges'':

Pointing the way: The Pointer Sisters are now a legacy act relegated to opening Essence while the crowd straggles in. But what a legacy they offer. The trio, which now consists of Ruth and Issa Pointer and Sadako Johnson, presented a sturdy greatest-hits set that was as bright and shiny as their fringed, mini disco dresses. After opening with 1979's Happiness, their next eight songs were all top-10 hits, highlighted by a sensuous Slow Hand, a lush version of Bruce Springsteen's Fire that accented the push-and-pull rhythm, and an exuberant Jump (For My Love).

Blue Notes: Bravo to festival bookers who expanded the normal contemporary R&B parameters to include the classic blues/psychedelic-rock of young Austin-based guitar wiz Gary Clark, Jr. and his quartet. The 28-year-old has been burning up the large outdoor festival circuit during the past year, but he shone just as brightly on the small lounge stage as he showcased songs from last year's well-received The Bright Lights EP. Clark doesn't yet have an immediately recognizable sound when he plays his Epiphone Casino electric guitar, but he is incredibly adept at absorbing and synthesizing the styles of such masters as including Jimi Hendrix, T-Bone Walker, Albert King and Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughan. His soft tenor and falsetto seemed ideally suited to the few soul and R&B songs he performed, but it's the blazing guitar workouts, notably on Bright Lights, that wowed the crowd

Sex machine:Trey Songz threw an orgy for tens of thousands of screaming fans Friday but he made every woman in the house feel like it was a private affair for two. The 27-year-old is cool, confident and not overtly crude, even when he's tearing into sweaty anthems that celebrate oral sex (the new Dive In), loud romps in the sack (Neighbors Know My Name and Bottoms Up), living large (Say Aah) and, of course, love (Sex Ain't Better Than Love).

He spent many minutes toward the end pointing out and complimenting specific women in the front, far in the back and way up high in the Superdome, building a strong personal connection despite the vastness of the space. And he's sly: "Don't point your girl out to me, dawg,'' he chided a man in the crowd.

Near the end of his set, one tweeter summed up the essence of Songz at Essence: "Just devoured some crawfish etouffée while watching Trey Songz take off his shirt - YUP!''

Where ya been?:Sandwiched between two forces of nature - Trey Songz and closing headliner Charlie Wilson - was something of a natural disaster: one-time neo-soul star D'Angelo, making his first major concert appearance in a dozen years. The crowd that had been played so masterfully by Songz largely turned stony when D'Angelo and his eight-piece band launched into their dense stew of funk, soul and R&B. Clad in a black leather vest and sporting bulging biceps, the 38-year-old Virginia-native tried gamely to evoke the spirits of James Brown and Prince with his occasional choreography, wicked falsetto runs, screams and spiky musical arrangements. But the material was lacking as the set list included several new songs that were unfamiliar to most of the audience and a number of tunes from his '90s heyday that had been forgotten, such as Chicken Grease and Playa Playa. The crowd finally responded to 2000 hit Untitled (How Does It Feel) but was left disappointed by the omission of Brown Sugar.

'Final Act' Wilson: After several years of stealing the show as a middle act at Essence, ex-Gap Band leader and now solo entertainer supreme Charlie Wilson was given the closing headliner slot this year, and he ran, danced and pranced with it. Now 59 and a survivor of cancer, alcoholism and drug addiction, Wilson has become the beloved "Uncle Charlie,'' who hasn't let 18 years of sobriety dim his party spirit. As in past years, Wilson put on a visually splendid show, featuring a series of sparkling suits (one of which glowed in the dark), a dynamic light display and dancers who seemed to grow sexier with each costume change. Gap Band-era hits such as Yearning for Your Love, You Dropped a Bomb on Me and Party Train and later solo numbers Life of the Party and There Goes My Baby brought the crowd to their feet and kept them there.

And people thought this comeback after a 12 year sabbatical would be easy?*

*with no new album

CynicKill said:

And people thought this comeback after a 12 year sabbatical would be easy?*

*with no new album

Who?

Cinny said:

CynicKill said:

And people thought this comeback after a 12 year sabbatical would be easy?*

*with no new album

Who?

D.

CynicKill said:

Cinny said:

Who?

D.

[img:$uid]http://us.123rf.com/400wm/400/400/designpics/designpics1006/designpics100601527/7189751-young-woman-s-knee.jpg[/img:$uid]

RnBAmbassador said:

Essence fest: Songz is strong

(a recap of Friday night) from USA Today

I can't possibly take this serious. I refuse 2 read any further.

RnBAmbassador said:

Where ya been?:Sandwiched between two forces of nature - Trey Songz and closing headliner Charlie Wilson - was something of a natural disaster: one-time neo-soul star D'Angelo, making his first major concert appearance in a dozen years. The crowd that had been played so masterfully by Songz largely turned stony when D'Angelo and his eight-piece band launched into their dense stew of funk, soul and R&B. Clad in a black leather vest and sporting bulging biceps, the 38-year-old Virginia-native tried gamely to evoke the spirits of James Brown and Prince with his occasional choreography, wicked falsetto runs, screams and spiky musical arrangements. But the material was lacking as the set list included several new songs that were unfamiliar to most of the audience and a number of tunes from his '90s heyday that had been forgotten, such as Chicken Grease and Playa Playa. The crowd finally responded to 2000 hit Untitled (How Does It Feel) but was left disappointed by the omission of Brown Sugar.

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Cinny said:

RnBAmbassador said:

Where ya been?:Sandwiched between two forces of nature - Trey Songz and closing headliner Charlie Wilson - was something of a natural disaster: one-time neo-soul star D'Angelo, making his first major concert appearance in a dozen years. The crowd that had been played so masterfully by Songz largely turned stony when D'Angelo and his eight-piece band launched into their dense stew of funk, soul and R&B. Clad in a black leather vest and sporting bulging biceps, the 38-year-old Virginia-native tried gamely to evoke the spirits of James Brown and Prince with his occasional choreography, wicked falsetto runs, screams and spiky musical arrangements. But the material was lacking as the set list included several new songs that were unfamiliar to most of the audience and a number of tunes from his '90s heyday that had been forgotten, such as Chicken Grease and Playa Playa. The crowd finally responded to 2000 hit Untitled (How Does It Feel) but was left disappointed by the omission of Brown Sugar.

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Well I meant an album already out and a couple singles released at least.

Perform those songs on TV.

Then...

Tour with the new material.

As it is now he's somewhat of an oldies act with too scant of a catalogue. Plus he's been away for 12 years.

Cinny said:

RnBAmbassador said:

Where ya been?:Sandwiched between two forces of nature - Trey Songz and closing headliner Charlie Wilson - was something of a natural disaster: one-time neo-soul star D'Angelo, making his first major concert appearance in a dozen years. The crowd that had been played so masterfully by Songz largely turned stony when D'Angelo and his eight-piece band launched into their dense stew of funk, soul and R&B. Clad in a black leather vest and sporting bulging biceps, the 38-year-old Virginia-native tried gamely to evoke the spirits of James Brown and Prince with his occasional choreography, wicked falsetto runs, screams and spiky musical arrangements. But the material was lacking as the set list included several new songs that were unfamiliar to most of the audience and a number of tunes from his '90s heyday that had been forgotten, such as Chicken Grease and Playa Playa. The crowd finally responded to 2000 hit Untitled (How Does It Feel) but was left disappointed by the omission of Brown Sugar.

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Same thing I'm saying. Just goes to show you that D'Angelo's reasoning for his departure at the tail-end of the tumultuous Voodoo Tour was correct.

CynicKill said:

Cinny said:

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Well I meant an album already out and a couple singles released at least.

Perform those songs on TV.

Then...

Tour with the new material.

As it is now he's somewhat of an oldies act with too scant of a catalogue. Plus he's been away for 12 years.

He DOES play old stuff though, but now it's like all people want to hear for it to be considered "strong".

Its not the crappy artists.... its the DUMB PUBLIC who likes that bullshit

CynicKill said:

As it is now he's somewhat of an oldies act

I am having a tough time with that concept.

Then I think about why Charlie Wilson continues to be well received. He never stopped putting out new CDs but often performs oldies in his set.

CynicKill said:

Cinny said:

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Well I meant an album already out and a couple singles released at least.

Perform those songs on TV.

Then...

Tour with the new material.

As it is now he's somewhat of an oldies act with too scant of a catalogue. Plus he's been away for 12 years.

I don't know... as an "oldies act", don't you have to have more than five hits? I mean you don't see Lee Christie going onstage by himself because he only had "Lightning Strikes" or Bobby Lewis for "Tossin' and Turnin'" because they're always on package tours. To me, D's career is something of a waste. Reading his back story, I'm not surprised it's led to this. And just two albums and people not being too familiar with him, just goes to show what kind of impact he really did have if any.

It all boils down to this: people just want to be spoon fed with some hokey-pokey set from an artist who has not been fully in the public eye, performing or otherwise for over 12 years. Sure, D's personal demons have had a lot to do with it, but this is the problem with the public in general. Look at someone like El DeBarge, who went through the similar fate of having to be thought of as this "oldies" artist, despite the fact he came out with his first album in 16 years.

silverchild said:

It all boils down to this: people just want to be spoon fed with some hokey-pokey set from an artist who has not been fully in the public eye, performing or otherwise for over 12 years. Sure, D's personal demons have had a lot to do with it, but this is the problem with the public in general. Look at someone like El DeBarge, who went through the similar fate of having to be thought of as this "oldies" artist, despite the fact he came out with his first album in 16 years.

The difference is "when did they last peak" which for D'Angelo was 2000.

El may have had more recent albums but his peak was in the 80s, so I can see him having to go along with the oldies banner. Yet people still wanted to hear his new stuff.

Maybe D'Angelo could give the folks an album so that they can be familiar when they see him perform new material. That may be the only missing piece. Hard to launch a comeback with no comeback album.

[Edited 7/8/12 12:28pm]

Cinny said:

CynicKill said:

As it is now he's somewhat of an oldies act

I am having a tough time with that concept.

Then I think about why Charlie Wilson continues to be well received. He never stopped putting out new CDs but often performs oldies in his set.

D angelo isnt an oldies act to people around in his age, in their 30s and older. But I can see maybe someone in their teens or 20s maybe seeing him as old. There are people my age that look at Lauryn Hill as old even though technically their not. I personally dont view D angelo as an oldies act because his not that old even though his been away for a long time. There are plenty of people older than him that are successful. Charlie Wilson is a great example. He has radio hits and has successful shows that the young and old attend. It is possible for D angelo to do well on R&B radio and his shows as we know do very well.

mjscarousal said:

Cinny said:

I am having a tough time with that concept.

Then I think about why Charlie Wilson continues to be well received. He never stopped putting out new CDs but often performs oldies in his set.

D angelo isnt an oldies act to people around in his age, in their 30s and older. But I can see maybe someone in their teens or 20s maybe seeing him as old. There are people my age that look at Lauryn Hill as old even though technically their not. I personally dont view D angelo as an oldies act because his not that old even though his been away for a long time. There are plenty of people older than him that are successful. Charlie Wilson is a great example. He has radio hits and has successful shows that the young and old attend. It is possible for D angelo to do well on R&B radio and his shows as we know do very well.

That right there is the big difference in D'Angelo and Charlie. If I'm not mistaken Charlie had a hit on radio just last year. And I bet he performed it too.

Am I wrong in assuming D. is performing new material from a forthcoming disc?

Cinny said:

silverchild said:

It all boils down to this: people just want to be spoon fed with some hokey-pokey set from an artist who has not been fully in the public eye, performing or otherwise for over 12 years. Sure, D's personal demons have had a lot to do with it, but this is the problem with the public in general. Look at someone like El DeBarge, who went through the similar fate of having to be thought of as this "oldies" artist, despite the fact he came out with his first album in 16 years.

The different is "when did they last peak" which for D'Angelo was 2000.

El may have had more recent albums but his peak was in the 80s, so I can see him having to go along with the oldies banner. People still wanted to hear his new stuff.

Maybe D'Angelo could give the folks an album so that they can be familiar when they see him perform new material. That may be the only missing piece. Hard to launch a comeback with no comeback album.

True. But it's even harder when you have been hyping this album up for over 10 or seven years now. Here's the common denominator between the D'Angelo of the past and D'Angelo of now: It seems that the mass of people will always remember him solely for Brown Sugar and as the naked guy behind the infamous "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" video. At the same time, his personal and professional woes have caused a majority of the criticism and uproar he's been recieving as of late.

D'Angelo, along with others, have always had a way of letting people wait for new material without any type of momentum. When his masterwork, Voodoo, came out back in 2000, alot of people frowned on the fact that it didn't sound like it was worth the five year hitaus. Of course, the only memorable thing that people will always credit with that era was the notorious video that caused him to go "AWOL." Now, here we have been waiting 12 years and this guy has come out of his hole. True, it's an atrocity that this heavily-hyped and highly-anticipated comeback album is still up in the air and D'Angelo has almost nothing to show for it but some new grooves he's been cooking up for his shows, but it's even more sad when you read articles stating that he is reduced to some "oldies/has-been" affair. I don't know. I guess we'll never understand this man or his erratic work ethic. I guess the people don't know what they really want.

[Edited 7/8/12 12:49pm]

Shouldn't it be to his advantage that he has fans of different eras?

Is Sade on Twitter?

Cinny said:

Shouldn't it be to his advantage that he has fans of different eras?

Is Sade on Twitter?

Shoudn't it be to his advantage that some people aren't just taking him as seriously anymore?

I'm just asking that for the simple reason that he felt dissatisfied with how he was being treated by the public and label at one point. But at the same time, he was the one who chose to do what he did.

CynicKill said:

mjscarousal said:

D angelo isnt an oldies act to people around in his age, in their 30s and older. But I can see maybe someone in their teens or 20s maybe seeing him as old. There are people my age that look at Lauryn Hill as old even though technically their not. I personally dont view D angelo as an oldies act because his not that old even though his been away for a long time. There are plenty of people older than him that are successful. Charlie Wilson is a great example. He has radio hits and has successful shows that the young and old attend. It is possible for D angelo to do well on R&B radio and his shows as we know do very well.

That right there is the big difference in D'Angelo and Charlie. If I'm not mistaken Charlie had a hit on radio just last year. And I bet he performed it too.

My point was that D angelo is not technically an oldies act like someone like Charlie Wilson is. However, oldies acts can still be successful ex. Charlie Wilson. D angelos situation all around is a bit different from Charlies.

Cinny said:

RnBAmbassador said:

Where ya been?:Sandwiched between two forces of nature - Trey Songz and closing headliner Charlie Wilson - was something of a natural disaster: one-time neo-soul star D'Angelo, making his first major concert appearance in a dozen years. The crowd that had been played so masterfully by Songz largely turned stony when D'Angelo and his eight-piece band launched into their dense stew of funk, soul and R&B. Clad in a black leather vest and sporting bulging biceps, the 38-year-old Virginia-native tried gamely to evoke the spirits of James Brown and Prince with his occasional choreography, wicked falsetto runs, screams and spiky musical arrangements. But the material was lacking as the set list included several new songs that were unfamiliar to most of the audience and a number of tunes from his '90s heyday that had been forgotten, such as Chicken Grease and Playa Playa. The crowd finally responded to 2000 hit Untitled (How Does It Feel) but was left disappointed by the omission of Brown Sugar.

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Exactly what I said on that other thread. If folks just want an oldies session, then they should had just went to their car and played the two cd's. Who goes to a concert to hear nothing but the old, recognizable hits and not new music? I don't get it.

[Edited 7/8/12 13:16pm]

missfee said:

Cinny said:

The main complaint seems to be that he is playing new stuff. Wasn't everyone waiting for something new?

Exactly what I said on that other thread. If folks just want an oldies session, then they should had just went to their car and played the two cd's. Who goes to a concert to hear nothing but the old, recognizable hits and not new music? I don't get it.

[Edited 7/8/12 13:16pm]

Agreed! He's doing what he wants to do. Certainly he's not feeling the fire, despite his past demons, but the audience sure is. He's separating the MEN from the BOYS.

silverchild said:

missfee said:

Exactly what I said on that other thread. If folks just want an oldies session, then they should had just went to their car and played the two cd's. Who goes to a concert to hear nothing but the old, recognizable hits and not new music? I don't get it.

[Edited 7/8/12 13:16pm]

Agreed! He's doing what he wants to do. Certainly he's not feeling the fire, despite his past demons, but the audience sure is. He's separating the MEN from the BOYS.

And thats how it SHOULD be.

silverchild said:

missfee said:

Exactly what I said on that other thread. If folks just want an oldies session, then they should had just went to their car and played the two cd's. Who goes to a concert to hear nothing but the old, recognizable hits and not new music? I don't get it.

[Edited 7/8/12 13:16pm]

Agreed! He's doing what he wants to do. Certainly he's not feeling the fire, despite his past demons, but the audience sure is. He's separating the MEN from the BOYS.

You can say that again. Anytime an audience is all hyped up over that goat trodding Trey Songz and yet start yawning during D'Angelo's set just because he didn't perform his recognizable hits is blashemy. However, I do agree with Cynickill that he should had at least released some singles or an album first before agreeing to do a tour, or at least performing to an all R&B type crowd first...but somehow, I don't think the reaction would had been that much better. D's music and performing caliber these days are for those who truly appreciate great music and are open to hearing or use to enjoying a wide range of music.

missfee said:

silverchild said:

Agreed! He's doing what he wants to do. Certainly he's not feeling the fire, despite his past demons, but the audience sure is. He's separating the MEN from the BOYS.

You can say that again. Anytime an audience is all hyped up over that goat trodding Trey Songz and yet start yawning during D'Angelo's set just because he didn't perform his recognizable hits is blashemy. However, I do agree with Cynickill that he should had at least released some singles or an album first before agreeing to do a tour, or at least performing to an all R&B type crowd first...but somehow, I don't think the reaction would had been that much better. D's music and performing caliber these days are for those who truly appreciate great music and are open to hearing or use to enjoying a wide range of music.

PRETTY MUCH

D angelo is not for a casual music listener and judging by that audience who raved about Trey Songz they probably ONLY listen to the radio.. which says it all right there

Graycap23 said:

RnBAmbassador said:

Essence fest: Songz is strong

(a recap of Friday night) from USA Today

I can't possibly take this serious. I refuse 2 read any further.

mjscarousal said:

missfee said:

You can say that again. Anytime an audience is all hyped up over that goat trodding Trey Songz and yet start yawning during D'Angelo's set just because he didn't perform his recognizable hits is blashemy. However, I do agree with Cynickill that he should had at least released some singles or an album first before agreeing to do a tour, or at least performing to an all R&B type crowd first...but somehow, I don't think the reaction would had been that much better. D's music and performing caliber these days are for those who truly appreciate great music and are open to hearing or use to enjoying a wide range of music.

PRETTY MUCH

D angelo is not for a casual music listener and judging by that audience who raved about Trey Songz they probably ONLY listen to the radio.. which says it all right there

Right! Which means that D's target audience has changed. Maybe this has been a lesson learned.