Music Addikts

copyright Essence

If you know us ADDIKTS, then you know that we will travel anywhere for a concert. So, Essence Music Festival 2010 was no exception. 2 weeks ago (it’s taken me that long to recover and write this), with suitcase, sunscreen and camera in tow, I headed down to New Orleans, Louisiana expecting nothing less than great music, delicious food and memorable times with friends. I got all of that and then some.

The EXPERIENCE

I ate way to much. If I never see another po’boy or beignet, it will be too soon. I danced my heart out all weekend got to experience a city that I definitely plan to visit again.

THE MUSIC

It’s no secret, I went to Essence to see Janet. And on Friday night, the Louisiana Superdome was the spot to be. Monica started the night’s musical overload with a great set of of her old and new favorites. Even though almost all of the crowd was still at their hotels picking outfits and no one was there for her set, Monica didn’t seem to mind. She sounded and looked great.

Continuing as scheduled Raphael Saadiq was up next and did the best he could, considering the average age of the crowd was 35+ and didn’t know most of his songs. After Raphael, I headed upstairs to the McDonald’s Superlounge to check out Arrested Development. Didn’t realize how much I missed this guys.

Arrested Development did a great set, mixing in their old hits that everyone still loves, “Tennessee, Mr. Wendal & Everyday People,” along with new ones off their new album, “Stronger.”

I made it back downstairs to the main stage just in time to catch the tail end of Charlie Wilson’s enthusiastic performance.

At 11:30pm, the dome went dark and it was time….

Janet Jackson took the stage and rocked it for a solid 2 hours. By 1:30am, this ADDIKTS was worn out. Janet’s performance and all the great times at Essence is just too much to re-cap right here. So, check out Essence.com for all the sights and sounds that I couldn’t get for you.

Can’t wait to see who is in the line-up for Essence 2011!

4daLove

Monica @ Essence Music Festival 2010

Raphael Saadiq @ Essence Music Festival 2010

Arrested Development @ Essence Music Festival 2010

Janet Jackson @ Essence Music Festival 2010

Janet Jackson @ Essence Music Festival 2010

Janet Jackson's closing performance @ Essence Music Festival 2010

Photo credit: Pastemagazine.com

The chatter on Facebook was building as fans waited for the announcement of where Big Boi and his friends, Jay Electronica and Yelawolf  would be performing for Microsoft’s Kin secret, free show Thursday night.  ”Shhhh!! It’s a secret. We’ll tell you when you need to know.” Not in those exact words, but that’s basically what the Facebook page said to the 600+ people that had RSVP’d for the concert , including myself. It’s not every day that Big Boi performs for his hometown and I needed to be there.

After getting the “come on in” nod from a friend of a friend at the door, I skipped the line, got through the door and got myself ready for a good time.

The show, sponsored by Microsoft Kin, was corporate product promotion at its finest. A spacious, unique venue – check. Free goodies – double check. And the Pièce de résistance….free drinks – triple check!!

Jay Electronica (Yes, one of Erykah Badu’s baby daddies) opened the show by first expressing his appreciation for the city of Atlanta – his self-proclaimed 2nd home following Hurricane Katrina.  I admit…I was a sleeper. I had heard of Jay, but never paid much attention to him.  During his performance, I had to hang my head in shame.  I am an ADDIKT, I should have known better. The guy is a great lyricist and he brought just the right type of energy needed to get the crowd going.

He even chopped it up with the people on the floor during and after his performance. Find out more about Jay here and follow him on twitter to keep up with all the stuff he has coming out.

After a quick DJ break, rap newcomer Yelawolf bounded out on the stage tatt’ed up and rhyming faster than I had used up my 4 drink tickets. Recently signed to Interscope Records, Yelawolf has apparently been around for years and is finally getting some widespread exposure. His song, “Pop The Trunk” seemed to be a crowd favorite.

Again, I am ashamed. I knew very little about Yelawolf and on first glance I was a little suspect. But in the infamous words of DJBooth.net, “Be careful of first appearances. White, slim and heavily tattooed, at first glance YelaWolf looks more like a punk rocker than a rapper, but take one listen to Trunk Muzik and it’s clear that his hip-hop roots run deep.”

Yelawolf is featured on Big Boi’s new album and his mixtape, Trunk Muzik, is available online for free download.

Just a short 10 minutes later, one half of the legendary Outkast duo (Big Boi) was on stage in front of his hometown family. He immediately jumped into Outkast classics like, “Ms Jackson,” “Elevators,” “Southern Playalistic“, performed a new track or two and then went back in to the classics we love, “So Fresh, So Clean,” “Ghetto Musick” and “B.O.B. (Bombs Over Baghdad).

And although I left with flat hair, a sweaty shirt and sore feet, it was all worth it.  I’m still talking about the show and so is CNN.  And if Thursday’ show is any indication of what fans will get on Big’s Boi’s solo project, then forget July 4th!! I’ll be shooting fireworks off on July 6th when Sir Lucious Left Foot, The Son of Dusty Chico hits stores.

4daLove

Whenever we are able, we always try to give various perspectives on the shows we ADDIKTS attend. Below is a review of the PJ Morton “Walk Alone” Album release show at Center Stage Atlanta on Friday, April 23rd, told from 2 perspectives.

4daLove: Having just come off an interview with PJ Morton, us ADDIKTS were really looking forward to seeing him live at CenterStage last Friday. But, when I got to the venue, I was a little surprised. The crowd was a little light. There was no line at the bar or the bathrooms and everyone was sitting down.  The air and vibe before the show was definitely lacking something…

I had to wonder…would PJ be enough to move this crowd?

Turns out, he didn t have to be. With a colorful cast of opening acts and a stand-out peformance, PJ Morton found a creative way to weave religion into the show without putting people off. 

His show was a case study of how to pay respect to your religion and spirirtuality without beating people over the head with it.

Part MC, all comedian, Marcus Harvey got the crowd warmed up with his hilarious depictions of the antics that characterize Sunday worship service.

Then Decatur native, Nathan Angelo took “us to chuuurcchh” with moving performances of several songs from his 4 releases, “Love Sucks“, “Way Past “Love“, “These Ol’ Keys” and “A Brighter Day“.

soulHIGH: It had been a LONG time since I’d seen PJ Morton in concert. So the anticipation was high prior to the show. Not only that, but this show was a live recording to celebrate the release of his new album Walk Alone. His set began with a full band, with a horns section, leading the intro to “She’s Gone” and the crowd went wild.  At least, the ADDIKTS did.  I did notice a few concert-goers around us that seemed a bit stiff for a PJ show.  I’d hope that as the show went on, they’d get some energy.  Who comes to a concert like that to sit with your arms folded? Anyway, the ADDIKTS always bring enough energy to spread, so we masked their lack thereof. When Tweet graced the stage to sing “Love You More” with PJ, the audience responded well.  I think this is an album favorite. 

There was quite a moment that I personally experienced during the show, when he sang “Mountains and Molehills”.  If you listen to the words of the song, maybe you’ll understand.  I literally got chills.  Music is such a powerful form of expression.  At one point in the show, PJ called up his father to the stage and they sang “Let Go” and it was definitely felt in the room.  I respect the fact that PJ hasn’t forgotten where his roots are.  It was a beautiful thing to see father and son sing a song of encouragement and inspiration.  I’m sure someone in the audience needed to hear that- perhaps even me.

He also took us back to some of his previous albums by singing songs like “Jiborish”, “No Ordinary Love”, “How We Were” and the show closer – “I Need You”. PJ’s live show definitely leaves the ADDIKTS on a high…we’re still trying to recover! Support good music…

For more information on PJ Morton, check his website and follow him on Twitter.

Every year over 700 indie owned records stores spend a day celebrating the art of music. This past Saturday, Music ADDIKTS, Moods Music and Jodine’s Corner came together along with 11 great artists to celebrate National Record Store Day.

The day kicked off at 1pm with Catt reminding us, “It’s Saturday, it’s Saturday…” and ended with a rockin’ performance by The Remnant.

For any ADDIKT, there was no better way to spend a Saturday, as evidenced by the ADDIKTS that kicked it with us all day from noon to 7pm.  The videos below are just a taste of all the great performances that made Moods Music rock on Saturday.

Click on each artist name and go right to their site to get their music or head to Moods Music and get your fix.  See you next year for National Record Store Day 2011!

National Record Store Day Line-up * Catt * Nadjai Soul * Lara Bell * Waterseed * Heston * Dezaray Dawn * Rhonda Thomas * Rock Nelson * Julie Dexter * The Remnant