January 17, 2003
Oh yeah...
I never wrote about going to see Sweet Honey in the Rock in concert last Friday, and I should have. If you haven't heard my ravings yet, Sweet Honey is a mostly acappella group of six African-American women, five vocalists and one sign language interpreter. They do a mix of old spirituals, tribal music, modern jazz and R&B stuff, and all of it comes with a strong message of social justice. These are six highly educated and accomplished women, and they're a joy to watch perform. Differing ages and shapes and sizes, they dance and move and sing until the audience joins in.
I saw them for the first time last year, so I was excited about seeing them again. This time they brought a very pleasant surprise with them. The founder's daughter, Toshi Reagon, is a musician in her own right with her own band. I wasn't sure how I felt at first about the group that I loved for its acappella sound, being backed by a rock band.
Then Toshi started to sing. First of all, she's a big woman, maybe even my size, and she's got a voice that more than matches. Oh man. I was blown out of my seat. She has a style similar to Tracy Chapman, but more so. Livelier, younger, maybe. She's also clearly inherited her mother's songwriting gift as well. I can't say enough. Seriously. Go here and you can pretty much listen to her entire latest album (which I received from Amazon today--that reminded me that I'd never posted about it). Go on. "Mountain Top" is a good one to start with, although I haven't heard one yet that I haven't liked. Go. Go listen. Now.
Okay, The Prophecy was worth
Okay, The Prophecy was worth the rental, just to hear Aragorn croak out, "I love you more than Jesus!" Wrongly funny.
No real surprise, but my god that picture's awful...
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