Show Review
by Steve Hammer
Erykah Badu, Floetry
Erykah Badu, Floetry The Murat Egyptian Room Monday, Feb. 23
It is an understatement to say that Erykah Badu is a diva. In fact, with her regal attitude, beautiful costumes and commanding voice, she could be said to be the successor of Diana Ross and Whitney Houston. This has both a good and a bad side. The good side was that she dominated every aspect of her show at the Egyptian Room Monday: Everything, from the arrangements to the stage décor to the dancers’ outfits looked as if they’d been hand-chosen by Ms. Badu. The bad side was that, when she embarked on her trademark spoken rants about spiritualism, or noodled around on a drum machine for 10 minutes, there was nobody to stop her. When she concentrated on the singing, she was brilliant. She stuck to her lesser-known material for most of the show, saving the obvious crowd pleasers to the end. Her voice on “Back in the Day” was a remarkable instrument. Still, a little less attention to stagecraft and more attention on the actual singing would have been welcomed. In contrast, opening act Floetry was all substance and little style. The ambitious British duo quite successfully mixed the spoken-word skills of Natalie Stewart with the singing of Marsha Ambrosius. With beautiful Lauryn Hill-type songs and free-flowing spoken-word interludes, this duo ripped up the stage with their bubbliness and intensity. Ambrosius in particular literally stunned the audience with her amazing vocal range and emotion. At 45 minutes, though, their set was too short. While Badu’s album sales have dropped, you wouldn’t have known it from the overflow crowd at the Murat. The place was as packed as I’ve ever seen it. This bodes well for the future of neo-soul. Next time, though, it would be nice to hear more singing and less talk from Ms. Badu.
