Bilal @ Sol Fusion, Wed, Nov 21
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Wednesday night was one to remember. I took the 20 minute trip from my home to club Sol Fusion, accompanied by my lovely wife and 2 sister-in-laws (one of which directed us to the wrong club.... thanks Mel!). We were a bit of a mess, arriving around 9:15pm, which we though was late, since it was advertised that Bilal, was to perform at "9:00pm sharp". After purchasing our $30 tickets at the door, and some overpriced, watered down drinks (Redbul & vodka = $10!!!), we realized the show hadn't started yet, found some good stage-side seats and awaited the show.
We spent another 30 minutes or so looking around the room, poking fun at some of the local fashion experiments and odd characters the band ignited the first notes of the night.Bilal opened with 'Something To Hold On To' the first track from his unreleased, but heavily bootlegged LP 'Love For Sale', which leaked early 2006. The majority of the crowd sang along verbatim, and Bilal playfully made comments like "Damn, ya'll all got the bootleg, huh?". He followed with high voltage songs like 'For U' and the Jay Dee aka J Dilla produced 'Reminisce', both from his 2001 debut LP 'First Born Second'. Expecting less, I was pleasantly proved wrong about the energy Bilal would bring to the stage.
The band was great, playing accurate interpretations of his catalogue, but taking drum, keyboard and lead guitar solos to the net echelon. Bilal also got involved, stroking a Wurlitzer, but also nearly kicking it into the crowd as he exploded into a rock star-esque stage fit, jumping onto the keys and crashing into mic stands and nearly fumbling into fellow band members. This display was received well from the amped audience of approximately 500 people. He wooed women with his hit song 'Soul Sista', and had a handful of guests, including Atlanta's own Joi (Dungeon Family & Lucy Pearl fame) join him in singing the jazzy 'Make Me Over'. The highlight of the night was the nit-picking classic 'Sometimes', followed by his smash hit 'Fast Lane'.
Aside from being around an hour late, Bilal understands the vitality of making a personal connection with his audience, and he has fun while doing it. The direct result is a building full of appreciative fans, thirsty for a new release from an extremely talented and passionate vocalist. I for one look forward to his next show, but next time I plan to sneak in my own bottle, and enjoy the festivities even more.
And my sister-in-law's navigation worked just fine when it was time for a photo:
- Arablak
Labels: ShowReviews
posted by Arablak @ 6:50 AM,
