Lauryn Hill bombs at Oakland's Paramount

[mellowdrama]

I feel bad for her--this just doesn't seem possible.

The voices of joy quickly turned over to thunderous hissing, and shrill comments, as who we thought was Lauryn Hill, moved across the stage like a sac-religious mixture of a James Brown impersonation, and your local borderline drunk. What came out of her mouth was even more offensive. Especially, to the fans whom have adorned and supported her since her 1993 album debut with the Tranzlator Crew. At that very moment, I swore, I must have been “blunted on reality”, because I didn’t think it was possible for this, as another critique wrote it, “Courtney Love performance” to be for-real.

The first six songs were almost completely inaudible. I’m pretty sure I heard three Bob Marley songs, “Final Hour”, “Cry, Cry”, and a Phoebe Snow song, but I’m not quite sure. The band was playing so loud, I swear it was a Battle of the Bands contest, Lauryn Hill’s mic was generating so much feedback, I felt like I was stuck in a middle school auditorium listening to an ear-splitting talent show, and “Ms. Diva Hill” was so twisted, that through the music and mic catastrophe, I’m not even sure if she was speaking a language native to any country on this planet.

Then, as an angry crowd expressed their disappointment, people began to get up and walk out of the arena. The breaking point for my wife and I, was Lauryn Hill’s sixth song of the night, which I believe was a Phoebe Snow cover. I was so disturbed by the sad image of Lauryn Hill on stage singing this Phoebe Snow cover that I too had to join the crowd that was walking out on her and demanding their money back. All I have to say is, if that was Rohan on the hand drums, where were you dude?

I truly thought the worst part was turning my back on an artist who had really touched me with her Jah-given talents. She has spoken so much truth on the topics of love, life, and politics. But I guess, when it rains it pours. In the lobby there was a growing crowd of angry patrons. I passed a lawyer who was collecting names for a petition, and saw a line of security guards backed up against the doors that led to the box office with a crowd of people waiting. Soon thereafter, the police showed up. A fight broke out in the balcony, someone threw up, and a middle-aged woman came limping out of the arena with no shoes on.

I walked to the front of the crowd at the box office, and spoke to Valery Laxamana, the Event Manager, and head security person for the event. First I was told that there was nothing we could do. Then I was told that we had to leave and call TicketMaster for a refund. Next I was told that there was a group of people already behind the doors getting refunds, and that once they cleared out we would get ours. They went on to say there was no Manager on the premise, other than Valery Laxamana to explain the situation. Finally I was told there was a promoter outside talking to patrons about refunds. My lovely wife decided to go outside, and I stayed inside. Once she was out, she was out. There was no coming back in.

The promoters had put a young man out there to deal with the angry mob. He began giving out his phone number, and by my wife’s description, looked as if he was about to cry. Inside was no better. Even the security guards began saying how they agreed with the patrons and understand their anger. They weren’t even given walkie-talkies to be able to have contact with one another. I guess only “upper-management” had that priviledge. Finally security opened the doors to the box office, and to my non-surprise, the box office was closed, as seemed the case for our refunds; but we weren’t going out without a fight. See, “I know all the tricks from Bricks to Kingston/ My ting done made your kingdom wan' run/ Now understand L. Boogie's non violent/ But if a thing test me, run for mi gun…” I stayed posted, and unfortunately, the group thinned down throughout the night until it was just me standing in the Paramount Theatre lobby with the over-worked (and I’m sure underpaid) security.

http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2007/06/damn_lauryn_hills_train_wreck.php

 

[SomethingElse]

Really sad. I feel for her, too.

It use to be easy to be a fan of Lauryn Hill, back when she was making some of the most important and successful albums of the ’90s and winning record numbers of Grammy Awards.

It’s gotten much more difficult in recent years, as the diva has hidden herself from the public, appearing out just enough to still give Courtney Love a run for the money in the wacko pop star race.

And it was darn near impossible to be a fan of Hill during her rare concert appearance on Wednesday night (June 27) at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland.

How bad was this concert? Well, calling it a fiasco would be an insult to fiascos everywhere. It was bad enough to send 75 to 100 fans into the lobby only four songs into the set, all of them grumbling loudly and demanding refunds. Those were the smart ones _ the rest of us remained in our seats and watched what amounted to a two-hour train wreck.

It was easy to sympathize with the disgruntled fans. It was also hard not to feel bad for the venue and promoter _ since they were presenting what they surely believed to be a still-professional act.

The blame for this whole mess should fall squarely on the shoulders of Hill, who should really consider retiring at this point in what’s left of her career.

The crowd had started to turn on Hill long before she took the stage _ nearly 2 1/2 hours after the showtime printed on tickets. Even with an opener, fans were forced to endure an hour of silence. Little did they know that was going to be the highlight of the night.

Once Hill finally made her appearance, fronting a solid 14-piece band that deserved far better than this, things began to quickly unravel. She opened with a jammed-out, improvised number that featured almost no real lyrics and zapped whatever little wind remained in the crowd’s sails.

The 32-year-old vocalist then turned to 1998’s landmark “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” _ a work that, amazingly, still stands as her most recent studio effort _ for a garbled version of “Lost Ones.” Her voice was terrible, so harsh, strained and unlike what one hears on the masterful “Miseducation” CD. She also sounded like she’s out of shape, huffing and puffing like a weekend warrior after only a few songs.

But it wasn’t just her voice that was shaky. Hill stumbled about the stage and, at one point, actually fell flat on her back _ which brought into question exactly what the singer had been doing backstage during the long delay.

Of course, Hill would find that question ludicrous. She blamed her stage fall on her high heels and, later in the show, took the time to assure the crowd that she was sober.

Assuming she was telling the truth then that’s one less excuse Hill has for her terrible outing, which included shoddy and uninspired vocal performances on such formerly great “Miseducation” tunes as “To Zion” and “Final Hour.”

The singer had somewhat better luck with the material from her old band, the Fugees. Her voice was brittle and weak on “How Many Mics,” but she finally started to get in the swing of things with “Fu-Gee-La” and “Ready or Not.”

By that time, however, the once-capacity crowd had dwindled down to half a house. Those who left early missed Hill’s new song, “Lose Myself,” which is featured on the “Surf’s Up” soundtrack. It’s a pretty good tune, but the singer wrecked it in concert by stretching it out far beyond its recommended dosage.

In all, Hill didn’t manage to provide one good reason why locals should remain in her fan camp. I’d like to tell you different, but that would clearly be a “miseducation” of the readers.

ibabuzz.com

 

[mellowdrama]

^thanks for the better (more journalistic) article. I'd give karma but I've got to spread it around...I really wanted to see this show and I'm so glad I didn't. It hurts just to think about it.

 

[xmodel citizen]

I've heard some bad stuff about her. She's really gone over the edge since her huge debut. And yeah, wasn't her MTV Unplugged special bad as well?

 

[electricladyland]

This is heartbreaking. I kinda liked her unplugged performance because i saw it as her fledgeling attempt at creating something new...going in a new direction which i respect. so i thought it was raw but I liked it. I saw her in concert at the Hollywood Bowl after the MTV special and many fans were disappointed with her unglamorous look and unconventional music. I was still in her camp though thinking the lack of glamour was a rebellious anti-glamour and that her music was unconventional because she was striving at innovation in a time when airwaves are pretty insipid and uninspired. But this account of the Oakland show is heartbreaking and I hope she gets herself together not just for her career but for her kids.

 

[misssakura]

You find this surprising? Didn't you see Block Party? She butchered killing me softly. I wanted to cover my ears. It was all out of tune vocal gymnastics. She has no idea of what melody or expression is. She has a gorgeous voice but most of the time wastes it on childish rapping. When I hear her voice in Sister Act 2 I just want to melt. She's capable but refuses to sing simply - what is she so afraid of. That her lack of 'dramatics' will ruin her rep within the 'african american hip hop crowd"? She has issues.

 

[kissmesweet]

Poor girl... I don't even know what to say.

I remember that she was bitching about Carrie Underwood, who is quite a bore.

 

[Salvatore]

Uffff.....I used to like her....my "our song" is "Tell Him" by her........very disappointing.

 

[city girl]

the whole thing sounds crazy

 

[zembla]

I LOVE Lauryn Hill but she has clearly lost her mind...how it happened...who the hell knows??

 

[electricladyland]

You find this surprising? Didn't you see Block Party? She butchered killing me softly. I wanted to cover my ears. It was all out of tune vocal gymnastics. She has no idea of what melody or expression is. She has a gorgeous voice but most of the time wastes it on childish rapping. When I hear her voice in Sister Act 2 I just want to melt. She's capable but refuses to sing simply - what is she so afraid of. That her lack of 'dramatics' will ruin her rep within the 'african american hip hop crowd"? She has issues.

She may have issues but your assessment of her singing is way off. Her rap is far from childish and is in fact some of the more sophisticated hip hop that existed at the time. Her problem seems much larger than a lack of desire to "sing simply" something which African Americans can appreciate just as well as anyone else. Vocal gymnastics are an aesthetic characteristic of african american singing and has been imitated by singers of all ethnicities, sometimes elegantly and sometimes quite poorly. The problem with Lauryn Hill seems to stem more from personal issues that have impacted her voice not from her stylistic choices.

 

[xmodel citizen]

She sucks because she's borderline insane and psychotic. THe woman needs serious help.

 

[misssakura]

She may have issues but your assessment of her singing is way off. Her rap is far from childish and is in fact some of the more sophisticated hip hop that existed at the time. Her problem seems much larger than a lack of desire to "sing simply" something which African Americans can appreciate just as well as anyone else. Vocal gymnastics are an aesthetic characteristic of african american singing and has been imitated by singers of all ethnicities, sometimes elegantly and sometimes quite poorly. The problem with Lauryn Hill seems to stem more from personal issues that have impacted her voice not from her stylistic choices.

I disagree with you. African American singing my ***, she just thinks that putting as many notes a la aguilera into her singing makes her voice sound more impressive. She's afraid to be simple. You know who my favourite singers are? Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington, Nat King Cole. I've listened to these singers since I was a baby.

Their songs are powerful, immensely beautiful and full with talent. The point is that Lauryn Hill CAN sing, she can sing like an angel. But she doesn't understand music particularly well and she doesn't understand that people will respect her voice and her singing if she doesn't add all the frills.

It's a modern fad and has nothing to do with being 'African American' in general just that the 90's and the 00's brought an influx of 'Nu-Gospel' singers who tried to impress with power but without soul. Even the queen of soul, Aretha Franklin knows how to carry a melody.

I guess the best example I could give would be Chopin's Raindrop Prelude (piano). This piece is relatively simple, it could be played by people who haven't attained particularly high piano grades. So you'd think that professional pianists refrain from playing this piece because it's so simple? You'd think maybe they'd need to throw some Rachmaninov to the crowd. Yet, time and time again in concerts, professional pianists choose to play this simple piece. They don't add any notes nor take away any. They play the piece as it is written. Yet an amateur won't even come close to capturing the emotion and the power of the song. The pianist inherently has their own style and their own reasons for playing the piece which captivates the audience.

Sorry a bit long winded but it always bugs me when I have to explain the difference between expression and vocal gymnastics.

 

[misssakura]

That 10 limit editing thing annoys me, I just wrote out a whole bunch of stuff and then it cancelled everything and took me into a random forum. Great! Let's think if I can summarize what I was saying.

Vocal acrobatics undeniably demonstrate skill but it's like explaining an obvious plot point in a movie. Showcasing every note in the scale, like Miles Davies, is hard to do but it's not pleasant to listen to, nor does it demonstrate more skill than somebody who chooses to select their notes very carefully which is arguably more of a skill. It's immensely difficult to choose a simple but beautiful melody - ask any composer. What I'm saying is that Lauryn has a fantastic voice. The way she chooses to use it, I believe, is too obvious and almost designed to hide her lack of understanding of music, and also for the large portion of her audience who have no understanding of music.

 

[electricladyland]

I totally get the value of BOTH simple melodies and complex polyrhythmic improvised riffs. Do you?

 

[just_me]

ITA misssakura!

 

[misssakura]

I totally get the value of BOTH simple melodies and complex polyrhythmic improvised riffs. Do you?

An improvised vocal riff in my opinion should be just that - a riff. I never said that they don't have merit but in my opinion they're becoming too integrated into entire song structures.

I do think the majority of the time it's either due to
a) Lack of musical knowledge
b) Fear that the public/peers won't recognise their natural talent if they don't show off the bling.

I think if Lauryn Hill sang simply for 90% of the time her voice would be even more divine. It forces one to think about the actual meaning behind the song instead of relying on tricks.

p.s. polyrhythmic just implies that varying rhythms are used. I don't even think poly can be implied even if tonal because any 'melody' is polytonal. I'm not sure what the correct definition for vocal bebop is.

p.p.s this probably comes across as being more snotty than intended

 

[xmodel citizen]

Her problems have nothing to do with vocals, it's mental.

 

[zembla]

Her problems have nothing to do with vocals, it's mental.

Mmmhmmm....PREACH!

 

[Harumi]

I believe, is too obvious and almost designed to hide her lack of understanding of music, and also for the large portion of her audience who have no understanding of music.

That would just include the whole Grammy Award jury panel, 90% of the established music critics who nearly unanimously lauded her effort for The Miseducation... and the millions of fools such as myself who bough her album(s).
But thank god you are there to educate us all.

PS: please read the last sentence as mild sarcasm, not a full blow attack. I am just having fun.