D'Angelo 26 Januari 2012 - World Premier!

The year was 1995 and "Brown Sugar" did hit us like a bomb, here came this dude bringing back the organic sound of music back before the computer came into the game, still mixing it with the existing hip hop attitude and spot on modernity. He could play all instruments, he wrote and arranged all material and he had done his Prince homework, he had done his Stevie Wonder homework, done the Marvin Gaye homework but still he embodied the year of 1995. In a body that looked hella good doing it.

The album was rock solid, each song was amazing and "Brown Sugar" became a blueprint for what later on came to be called "Neo Soul".

We waited for five years, a groovier but oh so good "Voodoo" was released in 2000, and with it the classic video of "Untitled (How Does It Feel)" featuring a naked D'Angelo. In July same year, the Circus concert here in Stockholm, and this certain concert was something extra ordinary. (det finns en bootleg på denna fantastiska konsert också). I was there and most of my friends too, and we keep the memories from it in a special part of our music hearts.

The years after some few guest appearances.

Then the wait started.

We heard he had alcohol problems, heard he had drug problems, heard he didn't feel well, saw a mug shoot where he looked more like Ol' Dirt Bastard than himself. (Spin - D'Angelo What the Hell Happened 2008)

And we waited for so many years we forgot we were waiting.

And then the news came. D'Angelo will start his new world tour in Stockholm, Sweden, 2012.

Really?! Sounded way to fecking amazing to be anywhere near true. But I went all in and got my tickets on the first row in the center in front of the stage.

January came. What would he sound like, what would he be like, what would he look like?

Not until he actually got up on stage yesterday I was sure that it would happen.

And there he was.

Came on in a studded long black leather jacket, soft trouser suit (no it was not jersey's!), a black bandana and hat. Kind of D'Angelo so to say, but still with a little newer update. Started of pretty cautiously with a guitarr, but the voice was intact and when he removed the guitar and took of the jacket revealing pipes thicker than we remembered them, I think the whole audience felt a relief that he wasn't in such a bad shape. - This could actually become a pretty ok concert, we thought. Well he was a bit thicker also over the stomach area, and then it was this hair-do that would have made a crack head look good(unnecessary evil might one say, but then again this is the hottest guy during the 90s - he's gotta give us normal-looking people that...). But what was making him shine was his little patent smile. 

Yes the night was a bit over-filled with funk (and that is coming from a person that got a company name like Funkorama who got funk in all her bones) in the way a lot of American artist from a certain era tends to do it - because they know it's considered "real music", it's something they know, have the skills for and feel safe to lean back against. And I think D'Angelo needed that after a 10 year long concert hiatus. Therefor it sometime became a little bit too much of James Brown inspiration, add the always present in D'Angelo's world; Prince. Everything wasn't super tight (remember I compare him with himself 12 years ago not to some random artist), but for being the first concert in so many years this was a really nice surprise! It became a great concert, with "Shit Damn MotherFucker" as a high light among others! And the new song "Charade" (?) was pretty amazing, not predictable at all! Really promising. I'd love to see him in a couple of months with 25 shows under his belt and then we're talking!!! With that a certain self confidence comes, a self confidence that hopefully also helps D'Angelo to define what his own artistry really, really is about again. Being so close on the first row, I got to see all the small nuances of the body language you not necessarily sense at a concert. This is me Dr Philling it up, but I think I saw the little cute boy in him, the playful, charming but yet very careful little boy who just wanted to make music his own way, not really caring about good looks or sexual symbols. And I'm just happy he found his smile again.

And I ran out of batteries (amateur!) but Mr D got more pics that I wil put up later. Below is some videos I found and yes 4.37 you see moi in my striped shirt and hat hehe. Btw, learn this if you are on the front row it's not ok to sit down, you have a responsibility to give energy to artist in front of you if you're front row. A live performance is a dialouge.

New song Charade

New Tune: Another Life (it's me again in the left corner hehe)

New song: Sugar Daddy

Also notice he had legendary Pino Palladino (born in Cardiff, so I can guarantee he's a 2FACED1!) who was playing the bass guitar on the Voodoo album with him. Cool geezer! (To the left next to drummer above)

/// D'ecida

UPDATE: The Okay player writes about D