I saw her show for my birthday at Arizona Jazz Fest - she was 45 min late (not bad for her) but in a FESTIVAL SETTING where there is a DEFINITE end time to her set (Charlie Wilson was on after) - it was annoying. Because it meant she only played 50-60 minute. And while I loved every note and enjoyed the grooves, vocalists, bands and Ringo's DJ/beats as much as ever, and it was a fab way to start my 32nd year - i felt damn, does she plan any of this?

I heard from an inside source at the festival that she was THERE the whole time - just didn't feel like getting up and going on, was sittin there chillin and smoking until they threatened to fine her - and her tour manager almost got in a fight with the production people (classy!)

But I've noticed now it's almost ALWAYS "20 Feet Tall" to start, then "On & On/...& ON - which she really needs to retire/change/update - the crowd always loves it but lord she's been doing this number half and half in the same basic arrangement since 2004 for god's sake. and at EVERY SHOW. Then it feels like her improvised covers are the most brilliant part because they are the most fresh - her rendition of Yarborogh & People's "Please Don't Stop the Music" was fire...electronicaspacefunkzappandrojerjam! But most of it feels so "winged" - she even started the first line of "Undercover OverLover" and when the crowd didnt respond (come on girl, this is a festival!) she instead went into "Me" (and she still says EVERY DAMN TIME - i been gon awhile - wanna hear whats up with me? - before she does this tune - and she still always keeps the same lyrics about will i keep smoking trees and THIS YEAR I TURNED 36 - funny, she's over 40 now).

Idk - it seems formulaic and all just tossed off - aggravating because she's still the best live entertainer out there! imagine if she changed her shit up, at all!

I love Badu! but that is utter bullshit. If she really was backstage smoking the whole time. Her job is to entertain... so that's very fucked up of her.

I have attended her last 3 London shows, and to my ears they were quite varied. Sure she plays some songs more than others but what artist doesn't? The drum machine solo is getting a bit boring and maybe she could make a few changes to the setlist, but on the whole I have been happy with the shows i've been to.

She has been playing shows where a chosen album is played in it's entirety, I hope her next UK visit is not of that sort but either way i'll be there.

Regarding her lateness, she was more than an hour late the first time I saw her which was quite annoying.

I love all her shows and have never been disappointed. All the shows Ive attended she has never been late (Although I believe that story that she was probably there but smoking in the back lol that seems like something she would do). She can switch up the beats of her "drum solo" though. I love her creative live renditions of her songs. She deserves more props as a performer. She is a great live performer.

I wanna weigh in but I have never actually seen her live! However, all of the live footage I watched online seems to match what I am reading. Especially that damn drum solo

Cinny said:

I wanna weigh in but I have never actually seen her live! However, all of the live footage I watched online seems to match what I am reading. Especially that damn drum solo

Yeah, I haven't seen her live either, I want to but all this talk about being an hour late makes me wonder if that's worth my money. She is worth paying to see, but if she's only gonna be on for 50 minutes that's disappointing.

^ To be fair on Erykah, this thread has mentioned only two shows where she was late to start. I have maybe heard of only another couple of times that she was late, and she has doubtless played a huge number of gigs where she did amble on stage on the dot.

I should add that when she was late at the show I was at, she did play her full set.

[Edited 11/19/13 4:26am]

She played at an outdoor festival at a park here in Florida (Funk Fest) last year where she was the headliner and showed up 3 hours late. I remember this day well because it was my first time seeing her. Fantasia performed before her and finished around 8:15pm. If I recall correctly Erykah was scheduled to perform around 8:45ish. I could be a little off. The set was changed and everything looked ready to go. 8:45 came and there was no Erykah. 9:00pm came and there was no sign of Erykah. Finally around a little over an hour later one of the host came on and said "We just spoke with Erykah's people and she's on her way from the airport." Another hour passed and the host made another announcement saying the she was on her way. Finally around 11 they made an announcement saying that she was backstage. Another 10 minutes pass and they introduced her. Before she came on stage the band played a "20 Feet Tall" instrumental for literally 20 minutes. She finally came on stage at around 11:30. By this time the park seemed empty because most of the people left.

-

She only was able perform a few couple of songs: 20 Feet Tall, Me, On & On, Apple Tree, and Tyrone. She was starting another song when the sound was cut off. She looked around, shrugged her shoulders and walked off the stage. It was few minutes to midnight and the city made the event organizers shut it down.

badujunkie said:

I saw her show for my birthday at Arizona Jazz Fest - she was 45 min late (not bad for her) but in a FESTIVAL SETTING where there is a DEFINITE end time to her set (Charlie Wilson was on after) - it was annoying.

Okay... I think I have seen Badu live more than any other artist (between actual shows and festival perfomances) and in the past she has been great. HOWEVER, the last time I saw her was headlining a festival the summer before last and it was one of the worst performances I've ever seen of anyone.

She came on late, and pretty much just stood still on the stage while the band jammed; sang partial versions of maybe 3 songs, chanted a bit and then LEFT. Everyone who had waited all night to see her was pissed and complaining.

Clearly she was stoned, but I've seen her perform at festivals where she seemed high before and it was not like this.. I mean, I remember seeing her on tour in support of Mama's Gun where she performed damn near every song off the first 2 albums, brewed a cup of tea on stage, pulled off her wig, danced and never missed a beat! Now just seems like she is not as in to it, but who knows.

She must be tripping on weed more than usual if she's showing up to gigs late.

Sometimes I wonder if artists due this because there are disputes between the promoter, manager and/or any other of the folks involved behind the scenes. Otherwise, it just doesn't make sense that she'd do this over and over again like this. Maybe it's a tactic used by a singer's management team to get more money out of the deal or whatever at the last minute. I often wonder when I hear about stuff like this. I wonder if it's just a smokescreen and if it's really involving more of the business stuff.