D'Angelo 

Live reviews

• D'Angelo

  It’s 3 February 2012. D’Angelo walks out on to London’s Brixton Academy stage and within minutes it’s clear what all of the fuss is about. Those that missed out on the Voodoo World Tour are treated for the first time to a set that showcases D’Angelo’s talent as a bandleader and performer. Some ‘new’ music is thrown into the show, and everyone’s happy. No one knows for sure what the tour is in aide of, although there’s been talk of D’Angelo finally releasing a follow-up to ‘Voodoo’, tentatively titled ‘James River’.

  ‘James River’ never comes; instead the album’s been named ‘Black Messiah’ and it gets rush released at the tail end of 2014 by D’Angelo and the Vanguard. It follows a release to blogs of the CD quality version of ‘Suga Daddy’ - a song that went down well with the Brixton Academy crowd back in 2012. The album’s a gem. One that everyone hoped for, but not even the most diehard of fans would have expected. For an album recorded over 14 years, it’s unbelieveable that time hasn’t affected the quality or relevance of the collection of songs that made the final cut.

  It’s against this backdrop that expectations for D’Angelo’s 2015 tour have been made. This is not like the Wu Tang Clan performing 36 Chambers at Rock the Bells, or Outkast reuniting at Coachella, where fans are treated to throwback sets from their idols. Little mention is made of the 2012 tour, which it could be argued fell more into this aforementioned category. In fact, 2012 is all but dismissed. D’Angelo and the Vanguard are now embarking on the ‘Second Coming Tour’.

  Saturday’s show started perfectly. Hip-Hop and R&B shows are notorious for booking unknown acts to perform warm up sets to extremely unsympathetic crowds, with the headliner usually turning up half an hour after their set time and stoking the crowd’s restlessness even further. On Saturday, fans were instead treated to Voodoo sessions era J Dilla productions and a playing of Dilla’s masterpiece, ‘Donuts’ in full. No breaks, no hypeman rapping over the beats; just Donuts on a good soundsystem, played in the order it was intended (Note to self: Do not stop pestering the members of the Vanguard on Twitter until it is confirmed or denied that they had a part to play in this). This was followed by a 10 minute break for the stragglers to get into the venue, before D’Angelo and the Vanguard walked on to stage at 21:00. The next two hours were a whirlwind of perfect entertainment, with the Vanguard (led by the indomitable Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave and Pino Palladino) recreating their energy from the album recording sessions, and D’Angelo’s voice matching them for power and professionalism throughout. Album cuts never strayed far away from their studio arrangements, but the band were allowed to showcase their talents in accompanying funk bridges. The audience were invited to join in at every opportunity (used to full effect on ‘Brown Sugar’) and were held captive for the entire two hour set. D’Angelo led the Vanguard with assurance and swagger. Yes, the album and live show would not be the same without this collective of extremely talented musicians, but at no point could it be said that the band carried D’Angelo. His falsetto never faltered and he didn’t shy away from showing off his entire vocal range.

  The show, and everything that it entailed, was encapsulated in its final song. Predictably, ‘Untitled (How does it feel)’ was chosen to see out the night. Chris Dave’s drum solo at the end of ‘Till it’s Done (Tutu)’ rolled into Jesse Johnson’s guitar lick to kick the final song off, which was heart wrenchingly sang out. As the crowd thought it was coming to a close, the band continued to repeat the refrain, but dropped off stage one-by-one, allowing each to individually receive the audience’s appreciation. We were left with D’Angelo at a piano, singing ‘How does it feel?’ to him, and him singing ‘It feels so good’ back. Saturday’s show felt more than good; it felt great. What fans had been praying for was teased in 2012, fuelled in 2014 and proven in 2015. D'Angelo is back from the dead. Black Messiah indeed.

  Rating: 94

  Best Song: ‘Charade’

  Minutes late for set time: 0

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  by aj-eriksson

• Late night conversations about music were not uncommon when I lived in San Francisco. Sometimes these conversations would turn into arguments. Take a love of music, add a bottle of Jameson whiskey, a double shot of ego and ice. Shake well. Scrape all pragmatism off the top and overserve. Words were wasted as they merged with dead brain cells…going up in smoke before ever fulfilling their purpose. We would all speak over each other until the only people who could follow our conversations were those who weren’t a part of them. Most of the content was forgotten by the time the sun punished us for our sins. One of those conversations has always stuck with me though. I don’t remember the context, but one of my friends blurted out that D’Angelo was one of the best shows he’d ever seen. He then went on to say that the R&B singer (turned recluse) was once slated to be the next Prince. I believe my response was “that naked dude from that one video?” I know that sounds ignorant now, but I didn’t know anything about D’Angelo back then. I was listening to a lot of punk in ’95 and a lot of Radiohead in ’00. Brown Sugar and Voodoo didn’t even exist in my world. D’Angelo could have been one of the members of Jodeci for all I knew.

  I know better now. When Black Messiah dropped from the sky like a dirty bomb in late 2014, reducing every premature year-end list to irrelevant words on blog, I did my homework. I learned about D’Angelo’s collapse under the pressure of his newfound fame. His sex symbol status was just too much for him to take back in 2000. The man who had literally exposed himself to the world, turned his back on that world in favor of darkness. Drugs and alcohol fueled his all-to-common fall from grace. But instead of becoming a media fixture of failure, D’Angelo disappeared almost completely. After many years went by, people stopped speculating on when the next album might come. D’Angelo seemed to be another ‘what could’ve been’ footnote in a century that was on the fast track to becoming ancient history. But like a superhero who only comes out of his super-secret hideout in times of need, D’Angelo decided he couldn’t stay quiet against the deafening rally cries of those who felt they were being unjustly treated by a police force with seemingly unlimited power to detain, abuse, beat…and even kill with impunity.

  - See more at: http://ilistensoyoudonthaveto.com/2015/06/11/dangelo-and-the-vanguard-ogden-theatre-06-10-15/#sthash.OHy6jEjx.dpuf

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  by kmartini

• D'Angelo is an example of neo soul music at its finest. Most people are familiar with him from when he hit the mainstream with "Brown Sugar," but he's been making music and performing since then and he is just as incredible now as he was then.

  A D'Angelo concert will have him singing, playing the guitar, playing the piano, playing the trombone and there are backup singers, too! D'Angelo is a musician on every level and his concerts are truly an experience. He is an innovative artist and his concerts reflect just that.

  He plays a lot of jazz festivals, but he definitely has a more youthful vibe compared to other jazz musicians. To put it in context, one of his most recent releases, as well as performances, have heavily involved the musician Questlove, who is the front man and the drummer for the band The Roots.

  The way the audience gets into the performances definitely makes gives it a communal atmosphere, which I think elevates the music even more. D'Angelo was once written about in Q Magazine and they listed him as "one of the 50 Bands to See Before You Die." D'Angelo is a musical treasure and is someone every person should see at least once.

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  By Anonymous

• D'Angelo, Michael Eugene Archer is often referred to as the modern day king of funk due to the influence on his R & B sound being taken from a variety of different classic genres including soul, funk and jazz. A performer in every sense of the word, Archer knows how to work a crowd and from the moment he steps onstage he is in the zone to entertain.

  It also helps that his own brand of neo-soul is of such a high quality that the audience cannot help but to get enthusiastic when seeing the man perform. Supported by a brilliant selection of live performers, D'Angelo performs a short set in terms of track numbers yet the way in which he has extended them all is a credit to his craftsmanship. 'Chickengrease' sounds refreshed and renewed with a new jazz influence.

  Breakout single 'Brown Sugar' receives a huge reaction from the audience and the band clearly enjoys performing this classic piece of soulful R & B to an adoring crowd. This level of fun remains throughout the show and the audience leave feeling they have experienced a world-class musician.

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  by sean-ward

• I travelled from London to see him in Birmingham. He did not disappoint.

  He was amazing in B'ham from start to finish, so much so that I hired a car & drove to Manchester to see him again the next day :)

  Absolute genius!!

  He did most of the songs off new album 'BlackMessiah, they were extended versions and the musicality was epic.The Vanguard were flawless, His vocals were flawless.

  Definitely a man in a league of his own and he should be well saluted.

  He is one of the most under-rated artist of our generations, he deserves more accolades and more exposure. Those of us that appreciate his genius, will continue to support him.

  I will look forward to his Second Coming.

  Thankyou D'angelo, it was an honour!

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  by Candygirl44

• Long awaited artist that I've always wanted to see. I felt like I'd been to church and I was redeemed. His aura, music and most importantly messages through the music spoke to me. Just gutted that I don't feel that the Manchester audience 'got' him. The reactions from the audience was a bit lack lustre and put a dampener on the event a little for me, because he was AMAZING. A true artist. The lady back up singer WOW, she was an angel. None stop dancing, stunning voice with wicked moves. D'angelo was in form and I have fulfilled one of my dreams of seeing one of my music idols perform live. Thank you D'angelo and the vanguard for bringing my faith back into real music and real performers.

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  by siobhan-sewell

• It was worth waiting 15 years. D'angelo and Band needed a few songs, but then had the audience in their grip. Great band, great sound, great groove, great entertainment. And they played more than two hours (!), including a nice medley of old and new material in the first encore. Also, a lot of old songs got rearranged, so he presented some nice interpretations of material.

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  by peter-post

• D'Angelo and his bands performance were legendary ! Such a great gig and the whole audience were on their feet for the whole show ! The new album tracks sounded way better live and he threw in some of the old classics too including a very Funk performance of Brown Sugar! Based on this gig I wouldn't hesitate to recommend seeing him live !

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  by funksuperhero

• Great night out, great vibes from the crowd. D'Angelo is the new James Brown/Prince combined. Period. Go and see him. The encore smashed it. D'Angelo's band were tight in everything they played and the backing singers danced soo much it was infectious. Not a single person stayed seated the whole gig. I still have a huge smile on my face.

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  by zappzack

• Oh man what a concert,I've always been a fan but this just blew me away. From the minute he walked out on stage with his troupe of funkerteers D'angelo had the whole crowd up on their feet for almost 3 hours.

  It felt llike you were in the presence of one of the funk gods on a level with James Brown or Prince.

  Wonderful night.thanks.

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  by alan-uyanneh