One of the best parts about this job is that i gain a lot of appreciation for many different artists and even if I don't end up completely liking them by the end of the show, usually I'll have more respect for them as performers. To my pleasant surprise, both acts fit this bill. Cee Lo served as more of an opener for Ritchie although his performance was just as good I thought. He started his career as a member of the hip-hop group Goodie Mob in the early 90's. He gained fame as the singer and songwriter of the duo Gnarls Barkley. They released a few albums to great success and their song "Crazy" sold millions of copies. Since then, Cee Lo has released solo albums to continued success and has also been one of the judges of the Voice. While his sound has changed over the years, it remains rooted in R&B/funk with a more pop sound. His music is a product of a lot of studio tinkering so I wasn't sure if he would be able to replicate it on stage while still employing his distinct voice. While he did use some backing tracks, I was still overall impressed with his show and his band has a lot of energy. More importantly, he's a a great showman and really got the crows going. He was by far the most popular opener we've had and was a great addition to the show. Lionel Ritchie originally started his career as the lead singer of the Commodores. Originally a pure funk band, they branched out to include ballads and by the time Lionel left in 1982, they had become one of the biggest groups in the US. His first three solo albums were massive successes and he charted 13 straight top 10 hits in the 80's. Like Cee Lo, he is a natural performer and had no problem playing all the crowd favorites, including songs from his Commodores years. While he is mostly a ballad singer (a little too much for my taste), he did sing some faster songs and the ballads themselves sounded a lot better for me on stage than on the records. i'll no longer point to Lionel Ritchie as an example of what was wrong with the 80's and I really did have a great time at the show.
Talk about being busy. Both nights had a sold out lawn and we had our hands full dealing with the sheer number of patrons that were coming in. While the crowd itself didn't have that many problems, things like controlling the use of lawn chairs and smoking were becoming issues. The art of walking through a completely full lawn is a learned practice and I definitely had a lot of practice these past couple of days. Luckily, there was no rain either night and it wasn't excruciatingly hot. It could have been worse but we were definitely on our toes for much of the night. Nevertheless, still looking forward to more shows in the future!
My favorite part of the show was when Lionel Ritchie played Brick House. I was actually really surprised he played it (he didn't sing lead on that one) and I've never seen a happier crowd. It made me realize that one of the best parts of this job is that you get to see people having a good time and it makes all the hard work I do worth it!
DC
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| No one can sing a slow song like this man |
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| Maybe I did need an excuse to say the F-word at work |
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