I love O Holy Night. What I don’t love is that so many try to sing this song and they simply do not have the vocals to pull it off .
Well, Celine Dion does a fabulous rendition…but I’m choosing Mimi for this one. Mariah Carey gives me chills when she sings (or at least, she used to). When she hits that note way up in there around the 3:26 mark, I just want to jump and cheer. It is that good.
video credit: originally uploaded to YouTube on November 7, 2009 by MariahCareyVEVO
I don’t go to many concerts nowadays. The tickets are so damned expensive and I’ve begun to pick and choose which artists I would pay money to see live. I would barter away my first born for tickets to a Jill Scott concert. The same would apply to Prince and perhaps Jay and/or Kanye, but there are few others that I would place on the list.
Sade has firmly earned her place on my list. Let me tell you why.
When I heard that Sade was going to be in Kansas City, I was ecstatic. That is, until I saw the ticket prices. My heart sank when I realized that I would have to probably stand on the corner and turn a few tricks in order to afford the ticket to see Sade live. And seeing as how I’m not about that life, I resigned to not going. Lo and behold, my SisterFriend sent me a text about a week before the concert, telling me that they lowered some of the ticket prices and we could go! Excellent…I’m all in.
Fast forward to July 26th, the night of the concert. My SisterFriend and I are all dolled up, looking fine, and we head down to the Power and Light District. Our plan is to have dinner then walk the block or so to Sprint Center. We decide to dine at 801 Chop House, an excellent steakhouse. We look at the menus and decide to go all out, make it a night, and order the lobster. That one pound lobster, filled with a crab meat stuffing, was the best damn lobster I have ever ate. We both ordered a martini, The Jamaican, that had us instantly tipsy (apparently, neither of us can hold our liquor). After our meal, we set out, full but not too full, to the Sprint Center.
There was a line, but it moved rapidly. We walked through the metal detectors and had our purses groped, then headed up the escalator to our section, 121. We made a stop at the ladies’ room, purchased glasses of wine, and retreated to our seats. We only had to wait about 10-15 minutes before the lights went out and the stage lit up, introducing John Legend.
I’ve seen John Legend in concert before, so it was a welcome reminder of why I love him. He opened with his interpretation of Adele’s Rolling in the Deep, which was excellent. JL moved seamlessly between the songs in his set, showing off his piano skills and beautiful set of pipes. I enjoyed it, but I really wanted to see Sade. So I patiently, and enthusiastically, waited.
After JL finished, and the lights came back up for intermission, there was a mass exodus to procure food and drink. Once again, the lights went down and the stage went black. Suddenly there was a single white light beaming up out of the floor, and Sade slowly walked up onto the stage, singing. I can’t remember what she started out with; all I know is that my soul began to soar. I was taken away by the music.
Sade’s show is an experience. Her stage design, with the lighting and placement of her band, is simple, classic. I found myself speechless at the images I witnessed…it really was fabulous, so much so that I can’t even put into words. You had to be there, I guess.
When she got to “Is It A Crime”, as everyone else bounced to their feet, I sat there and let that song wash over me. I have a special connection with this song, as I do the other music that I hold close to me, and hearing it live proved to be almost orgasmic. Almost.
Soon after our evening was over and we headed out of the arena and back to the car. My SisterFriend and I both agreed that it was one of the best shows we had ever seen and that Sade was classy and timeless. There is such a simplistic beauty about her and her music…I could only be thankful that I am here to consume it.
This was a concert that both my SisterFriend and I needed. We needed to escape for a moment. We needed to live inside of the notes and piano keys and orchestration. We needed to be taken on a musical journey.
…sweet. Syrupy, molasses, sugar type sweet. So sweet that it left a taste in my mouth that I couldn’t get rid of after I walked out of the theatre. That is not necessarily a good, or bad, thing.
First, let me say that there are simply not enough images of Black people in love on the movie screens. With the influx of Madea movies, and typical story lines that Hollywood continues to feed to the masses, Jumping the Broom was a refreshing change of pace. Seeing how these two families, from different sides of the track, come together was handled well. I was surprised at how good the acting was (Angela Bassett can do no wrong), and the setting in Martha’s Vineyard made me immediately want to schedule a trip to see it in person. But there was something else…something that didn’t quite hit me right.
That syrupy sweetness? Yeah…it got to be too much.
I love Paula Patton. I think she is one of the most beautiful actresses of our time. Her character in Jumping the Broom came across as whiny, spoiled, and shallow…if that was what she was supposed to be, then congratulations…she succeeded. But I don’t think that is the case. I think she was meant to be played as a woman who had reached a moment of growth in her life. A woman who had tired of going through men like water and needed something firm and concrete to stand on. A woman who was one of the “haves”, but not using it to define her. That is what she appeared like to me. I rarely say that I don’t like a character, but I didn’t like her. And my palm itched as if it wanted to slap her beautiful face and yell at her to stop acting like a 12-year-old.
Another thing was the Milf-y, cougar-y beginning of a relationship between the characters portrayed by Tasha Smith and Romeo. Don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against the whole older woman/younger man thing (I just may be defined as a cougar myself…they didn’t make younger men this fine when I was in my 20s…tee hee hee). My problem is that it seemed so forced and unnatural and unbelievable. Completely and utterly unbelievable.
At the crux of Jumping the Broom is a story that has tremendous amounts of potential. The ending—which I won’t tell you about, don’t worry—left me feeling like I had just ingested a huge amount of honey. I enjoyed it at first, but eventually I grew weary of the taste, and ended up feeling nauseous. Sometimes sweetness has a limit.
And this movie, despite all of its good qualities, was over the limit.
First, let’s begin with music. I’m in a classic mood this week, for two reasons: one, my birthday is in exactly 5 days; and two, the BET Black Girls Rock show. You may ask, how do the two come together? Well, the answer is Nina Simone.
I have loved Ms. Nina since I can remember. Her voice is hypnotic, and it shouts when I can’t, or don’t want to. when I saw my favorites singing this song on Black Girls Rock, I sat there in absolute stillness, and let the words rub my temples. It was the perfect arrangement, perfect tribute to Ms. Nina, and to the Black Girl in all of us.
Now, let’s move on to movies. I was going to write up a big review of Tyler Perry’s For Colored Girls, but I’ve decided against it. The choreopoem by Ntozake Shange is personal to me, as personal to me as to any other black girl who has ever read it and adapted it as her own. And if you are true to that black girl, you accept the fact that somethings are never going to live up to your expectations, no matter the intention. I believe TP’s intentions were good; I believe he came from a good place. And the movie, while emotionally draining, was a beautiful movie to watch. The colors were resplendent and the actresses, beautiful. There was something missing to me. And that something missing I will keep to myself, for now. I would like to believe that anyone who holds this poem so close to them as I do, will know exactly what I’m speaking about.
It has been a tradition with me, when celebrating my birthday, to open my day with a good, long cry. The kind of cry that reaches deep down in my soul and gathers all of the moss growing there and washes it away. I am going to have one of those crys Saturday morning. There is no sadness; only progression and change. I welcome it every year.
I feel new again at this blogging thing, even though I’ve been doing it, off and on, for almost 5 years. I can never decide what I want this blog to be, and that has presented a major conumdrum for me. That is, until I realized that it doesn’t have to be anything…it can just breathe and find its own way, much like we all do everyday. My blog is personal, it is emotions running wild, it is strong when it needs to be, and can be silent when required. My blog is me…and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
I’ve been in a mood all week. Not quite angry and not quite sad, but somewhere in between. I can honestly say that I hate this process of separation; it takes me off my center and I can’t focus.
The good news is that my mind is made up. The bad news is that my mind is made up…feel me?
This song has been #1 on the Marvalus mp3 player all week. I think it sums it up for me…
Jaden Smith is absolutely adorable. On the screen, he mixes his baby face with the confidence of someone who has some tales to tell. He comes across as both innocent and as a kid who knows exactly who he is. And that is a good thing. In The Karate Kid, the world is introduced to the star that will soon be Jaden Smith.
Let me say right here for the record: I loved the original Karate Kid. When I heard this movie was going to be remade, I was disappointed. I mean, why mess with a classic? The news that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith’s youngest son would be the new Karate Kid left me with a further feeling of chagrin. I mean, I thought Jaden did an excellent job in The Pursuit of Happyness with his father, but I don’t know many kids of his age of 8 who aren’t cute on screen. It was easy to dismiss Jaden’s acting, but those times are in the past.
Believe it or not; the kid will be 12 on July 8!!
I was immediately struck by his ease on screen. And I was impressed by the amount of training that he put into this role. I often found myself exclaiming at the screen “Yeah!” or “Go!” during his fight scenes. The one thing that plagued me throughout the entire movie was that he was not convincing as a 12-year-old. Jaden doesn’t look a day over nine or ten, if that. His slight build doesn’t do him justice, and the scene he shares with the beautiful actress who plays his love interest (!?) seem…uncomfortable. Jackie Chan, however, in the role of Jaden’s teacher, Mr. Han, was perfect. Being that Jackie Chan has normally been portrayed in comical roles, it was a welcome difference to see him in a role that actually showed that he was more than an accomplice in silliness to Chris Tucker.
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. That probably can be attributed to my love of the original, but then again, if this movie sucked, I would be the first in line waving my fist and calling for someone’s head on a platter. Instead, I await what Jaden Smith is going to do next.
