Call her Ms. Lauryn

 

Lauryn Hill is weird, but she isn't crackhead weird. She's more Beyond the Valley of the Dolls party scene weird. At least, that's how she struck me when she stepped on the stage Tuesday night at New York's Highline Ballroom. It was a make-up show for a date that was canceled at the end of December, thanks to the (first) Snowpocalypse. Doors were at 8; Ms. Lauryn Hill (that's how she's billed everywhere -- tickets, marquees, posted notes around the venue -- as if we needed pre-show warning of her eccentricity!) was set to take the stage at 11. The Highline, or maybe Lauryn's people, or maybe Lauryn herself, or maybe everyone working together to get through this thing called life has realized a thing or two since she embarked on this career-reminding tour (it could be called the Might as Well Do Something With This Talent of Mine Show). Namely, what's clear is that homegirl is preternaturally late. She's spent more time the past two decades not releasing records -- she was active for seven years beginning with the Fugees' Blunted on Reality in 1994 (fine, eight years beginning with the Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit soundtrack in 1993). It's been almost 10 years since Unplugged No. 2.0. For a moment on Tuesday night, it felt like we'd wait another eternity to see her again -- 45 minutes after she was supposed to hit the stage, her DJ announced that she was feeling under the weather and would be later than she already was. What did that mean? 12:30? 1? 2? Never? Would she seriously make us come out with a winter storm brewing for nothing? Assessing the moment and stops and starts and teasing and mess of her career of the past 10 years, all I could think was: this woman is such a pain in the ass.

But that all melted away (like I wish the snow that's vandalizing our city all year would) when she finally joined the stage at the merciful hour of 12:10, rolling and bopping her head, taking weird, tiny steps as if walking through a wading pool of mayonnaise. (Mayonnaise!) Her thrift-store mannequin chic found her in a muumuu, with neck, arms and fingers full of gaudy jewelery. "New York! New York! New York! New York! New York!...New York, New York!...New York City! New York Citay! New York City, I said! I said, New York Cit-tay!" were her first words to us. Immediately, she reminded me of Whitney Houston right before the Just Whitney era (hits included "Crack is wack!" and the Wendy Williams interview). Fantastic, I thought. It's not that I wish devastating, career-sucking addiction on anyone, I just like character. Flamboyance. Unpredictability.Skittishness as performance art.

And that, with some help of what appeared to be a coked-up bravado (she barely took a break from dabbing herself with a towel), is what Ms. Lauryn Hill delivered. Multiple times throughout the two or so hours she was on stage, I thought to myself, "If this weren't what it is, it could be so boring." Imagine Lauryn bringing her drum machine to rehash past hits in a perfect voice. Imagine if she were a Stepford pop star who was simply too busy cleaning and straightening pillows for the past 10 years and simply lost track of time. Imagine Unplugged 3.0. The alternative she offered -- a giant band that included at least two keyboard players, multiple guitarists, three back-up singers, a drummer and a DJ -- was so much more thrilling. She acknowledged her "raspy" voice ("But that’s OK. We’re gonna do it anyway, you understand?") through a 10-or-so song, stretched out journey that found her performing radically altered renditions of her solo and Fugees hits. "I've been doing these same songs forever. We gotta keep it interesting. I don't want to come up here and be phony for you. I wanna come up here and feel it, you understand?" she told the crowd on these new arrangements. She said it defiantly but it wasn't clear if it was in response to audience complaining. I can't imagine anyone in the room having the balls to stand up to this woman, really. She was too unhinged, and so was her show.

This was no well-oiled machine before us -- Lauryn regularly directed her band, the sound guy, the lighting guy and the audience throughout. After all, why sound check before when you can just integrate it into the show? It was hard to tell if the scowl that accompanied her directions was one of anger or concentration -- either way, I cannot imagine that her band is anything but scared shitless of this woman. She was as much a conductor (at times wildly failing her arms and body to bring out sound) as she was a singer and rapper that night, and she displayed a tendency to repeat directions as though they were chants to a power higher than the mere mortals she shared space with ("Builditupbuilditupbuilditup!"). That repetition was something of a musical aesthetic, too, as she'd spiral into tangents for minutes on end. The repeated ad-libs of "When It Hurts So Bad" ("I just stayed a little too long," "I gave too much of me," "If you just let it...") lasted seven or so minutes -- way longer than the structured song that came before them. She ran through a particularly hard, thrashy cover of "Ex-Factor," only to play the song again immediately in its entirety, but in a slightly less thrashy arrangement. The entire suite lasted about 25 minutes. "OK. I like 'Ex-Factor,'" I thought. I certainly wasn't arguing. She did her "How Many Mics" two times in a row -- lest you even thought of going there, she was making you think twice, mon frère.

It's impossible to imagine how crippling megastardom is unless you've experienced it, but very soon after The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill won the hearts of the globe's entire English-speaking population, Lauryn voiced her displeasure with her industry and the very concept of fame. I got the impression that she felt like an outsider who'd magically slipped inside. I interpreted her frequent repetition onstage as her negotiation of herself within pop music's constraints (loops and choruses and the like). After all, unpredictability within repetition is a pretty amazing trick to pull off. And she did and it was singular and captivating.

My only complaint is in response to her music's tendency to rev into high gear to stress fraught emotion. Not only was I less than jazzed about being presented what was essentially a rock show, Lauryn comes from the soul tradition and should show that it was her job to interpret her songs -- it is not her songs' job to interpret her. There's thinking out of the box, and then there's abandoning your essence. Luckily, Lauryn's messy humanity, weathered voice and all-around imperfection was there to remind us not only that she still has plenty of soul, but that for the past 10 years, this woman has been living.

The video above focuses on her often-hilarious between-song banter, so I'm including some music below (namely, "Ready or Not," which has an ad-libbed section about her finding her audience again and us finding her that's moving despite how manipulative it was intended to be, and "Killing Me Softly," to give you a sense of her voice and how different these arrangements are). I haven't been keeping up with YouTubes of her recent performances since I wanted to keep it all a surprise for when I finally attended this show, but my new Zoom cam's mics are made for concert recording, and I doubt you'll find a better-sounding audience video of Ms. Lauryn on all of the Internet.)

 

 

Comments

[irene]

this sound quality is amazing. thanks for posting!

[Dru]

Can't believe I missed this. Thank you for posting the recordings!

[Franchesca]

ugh. she sounds really bad.

[es]

What a lukewarm yet sweaty mess she seems to be! She needs to ring up Erykah Badu & get some tips! Even though EB was an hour late last time she played London - and it was my least fav performance of the six times I've seen her - she won the crowd back with her amazing voice, humour and charm - all things LH seems to lack. EB also manages to play her new material and most of the songs she knows her fans want to hear while making them sound fresh and familiar. I'm sure she's tired of singing Tyrone but she doesn't get all passive aggressive about it with her fans. Now I'm coming over all passive aggressive but I used to be such a big fan but her and her voice seem rubbish.

[Sarah G]

I'm glad you had a good time but I just want her back.

[j]

Firstly, I agree with Sarah - she's ruining the perfect memory I had of her...

Secondly, it upsets me that you're going to recap another season of shitty ANTM instead of Rupaul's drag race! I love the GIF walls but I know you're just itching to say something about it..! Can't we swtich? Just for a season?

[Michelle Johnson]

Daaaaaaamn. I don't have much else. Dayum.

[Sam]

When did Lauryn turn into crack-Whitney? She scares me now, plus, after a 10 year hiatus, she should remind people why they used to love her. Even if the songs aren’t as interesting to her anymore. I mean, if she wants to keep selling tickets in the long run.

[RJ]

This is horrible. It seriously upsets me to watch anything she does. Such talent, such beauty...completely wasted.

I'm with ES. I've seen Erykah Badu twice and she's easily the best show I've seen in my life thus far. She's incredibly funny, knows how to talk to her audience, and her songs & voice still hold stunning untouchable emotion.

[Danielle]

The Score was SUCH an important part of my adolescence, Miseducation less so, but it was also really important. It's hard to see her seeming so unhinged but the development and weirdness of her performances seems to work in context, in Ready or Not it seems highly important? I don't know, I'm just really jealous I wasn't there.

[V]

Lauryn is not on drugs and never has been. Also, the first video although entertaining is 7 minutes of a 2 hour plus set taken out of context. It is not even in the order in which the statements where made. Lauryn has been performing this improvisational jazz-like style since around 2005. Every performance is different. She is in control of every aspect from the band to the back-up singers. Lauryn is a brilliant artist. Yes, she does the extended version of ex-factor at every show. Lauryn does her and does it well as she suggested the audience adopt at the end of her set.

Note: Lauryn is not response for maintaining some perfect image you had of her. I think that is something you need to workout for yourself.

[Michael]

... but did she sing Joyful Joyful?

[Gen]

"...This is my message to the bacteria and flu that try to come inside my body?"

Priceless.

[James]

She's definitely an icon, there's no denying that. However, Rich is right. Without preservation of her past abilities, her "schtick" will inevitably become her fame-fueled, zany behavior. Sad? Somewhat. Everyone will always remember what she once was and compare it to what she is today, that's a lot of pressure and this is evidence... through and through. She crazy. I still love the girl.

Also, improvisational jazz? She IS responsible for having her shit together when she takes the stage for paying fans who've waited over four hours to see her. Therefore, let's reel it in a few feet before going over-kill defending someone who, although an artist, is gettin' paid to perform.

[Paula]

Wow! Ok! Where do I start with this misguided post? First of all, because she decides to shun anything that has to do with the addictive lifestyle that is behind "Hollywood Show Biz", she has to be on crack or even likened to a crackhead?? She refuses to allow anyone to alter the spiritual nature of her performances, she dresses as far from sexy as possible. We happily accept Lady Gaga in her underwear in an airport and don't call her crazy but someone want to get far away from that and they're crazy. Seems like you have a problem, dear.

It's written multiple times and even said on the video that she is sick and YET you still feel the need to comment that she sounds like rubbish. This is why she may seem to be "passive aggressive" because you're pathetic at this point. You refuse to let a person grow. It's pretty sad. The funny thing is...You will catch up. You have no choice but to catch up. She's been performing amazing arrangements of her songs that frankly you will not hear from any other rapper/singer/ composer.

Ready or Not was manipulative?? If she didn't say anything about her missing from the game then you would've complained that she didn't even say anything about her returning to the game.

if you think her show was a "rock show" then you don't know music. "I only have eyes" is not a rock song, "Final Hour" is not a rock song or rock arrangement. "Doo Wop", "Killing me softly", "Zealots", "Fugee-la", 2nd arrangement of "Ex-factor" are all not rock songs/arrangements.

You must be nuts to think that if a performer's name is posted all around the venue, where they're performing, that it's there as a personal attack to you. As if she came earlier in the day and posted them herself to prove that she's "eccentric." Her name is Ms. Lauryn Hill and Ms. Hill. She's definitely within her right to do so. Reading this sad post, I realize why it's important that she must be relentless in pursuit to wake people up. We allow for Sean Combs to have a part in a shoot out in a club and therefore change his name to separate himself from it...BUT a performer who did no wrong to her public changes her name and it's TREASON. You really have some issues, dude.

The chemistry between her and her band is absolutely amazing. The backup singers and every instrumentalist are jamming on that stage with her. It definitely seems like you built a story in your head and then went from there because half of these things are so misguided. I wish you well.

[n]

Me thinks some people are commenting that have never read your writing style or blog before.

[Devonric]

She sounds like shit. What a self-indulgent mess.

[alison of a gun]

I'm dying over her singing "Save the Best for Last". I bet half the white people were like "Oh yeaaah I forgot she did that song too!" (I am white..I probably would have done it. She could have sung every Toni Braxton hit and I'd have been like, "Oh sweet, Ms. Lauryn is so awesome.")

[alison of a gun]

Also, now I'm listening to The Score, and feeling sad. If she's sick or smoking drugs, either one sucks ass.

[Noelster_sf]

SRSLY living for this video right now. the sound quality is amazing and LH provided 'character' worthy of her own USA/VH1 13-episode 'being lauryn hill'-type tribute.

[Gem]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cr2RKy0jAHs&feature=fvst

[wannabeontop]

Oh. I don't know. It's hard. My love for her is so strong. I agree with much of what you wrote, but unfortunately everyone I know who has seen her live has encountered the same type of vocal problems or, in some cases, an inability to play ANYTHING from her previous albums.

I've never seen her live. I might never see her live. It's my Sophie's Choice of Coachella...

[electric]

Audio quality is amazing! Thanks Rich.

Like most young American females born in the 80's I love Lauren Hill. Her voice has changed but there is still a lot of potential and she can rap like a mofo. Love to see a woman rapping!

But this is not the best she can do.

[milkyaqua]

Even if Ms. Hill is in full control of her self, her show and whatever else as others have eluded, the point is, if you tell people a show is starting at 8pm and those people have paid money to see you...then you don't show-up on stage at midnight especially if the tickets and everything else says you're supposed to be there at 8pm. Also she's done this regularly. Even the band has acknowledged this. Perhaps her audience should be aware of this by now since it's been no secret but people are probably going on faith and past experiences with other performers that a show is going to start at a reasonable time and that the performer is going to be put on a coherant show. There's nothing wrong with her being a female Van Morrison if that's her wish but not everyone is going to just nod and agree that it's okay to treat your audience like that when the majority of performers don't tend to fall in the Ms. Hill and Van Morrison category. She's entitled to do what she wants and how she wants but it might be nice to inform her audience of this in advance before she finds herself singing to only her band.

[Leanspa Cleanse]

I have listened to him and he really sings well.