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Live review: Raphael Saadiq
Raphael Saadiq is one smooth cat. Rocking a black tie and a suit coat rapidly shed in the setting sun, he easily won the Xbox 360 crowd over with retro soul grooves complemented with Temptations-esque dance moves. A soul lifer who cut his teeth in the groundbreaking 80s act Tony! Toni! Tone!, his work in the years following the group’s break-up has been met with widespread critical acclaim, but limited commercial success. His 2008 release ‘The Way I See It is changing that scenario. With an old school sound that’s straight up Motown and a style crafted to match, Saadiq seems to have hit his stride.
The ACL audience was clearly sold grooving right along with Saadiq, who was backed by female and male singer/dancers as well as horns and guitar, bass and drums. When he ripped off his tie and segued into harder grooves delivering a screeching, electric guitar-driven cover of Iggy Pop’s ‘Search and Destroy,’ the crowd screamed along with him.
A consummate performer, Saadiq knows how to work a riff. He brought in the sensual love song ‘Let’s Take a Walk’ with a prolonged intro full of lengthy flourishes and pregnant pauses before sliding satisfyingly back into the horn accented old school soul.
His pipes were pure and when he picked up the guitar the man proved he could shred. But the most striking thing about Saadiq’s performance was his ebullient spirit. It was an infectious vibe that spread from the stage across the field. He introduced the song ‘Faithful’ by crying out, ‘Do you love me tonight? Do you love me tonight, Austin, Texas?’ Then he answered the responding screams: ‘I sure hope you mean it.’
There was no doubt we did.
Ricardo B. Brazziell photo
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Permalink | | Categories: ACL 2009: Friday, ACL Festival 2009
