Much appreciation to University of Akron for bringing the Keeper’s Lounge concert series! C’mon Cleveland State, get with it! The DJ (Krate Digga) was on point with the old school to new school mixing. Since it was Dilla Day in Detroit, it was the perfect filler – especially after hearing (during the concert) that Whitney Houston had just died that day.
The first performer was a sister from Seattle – Choklate. She switched from a British accent, to a Southern accent, to her native Washington state accent. Can’t lie, it was a little confusing, mainly for me because of the relatively new explosion of British neo soul artists. I thought she was next one!
The band played for both she and Anthony David, but unfortunately the sound man was not on his job. In fact, this guy, who was quite visible, practically stood over the board without touching it! If you don’t know what to do, then at least get out of sight. Consequently, the guitar was far too loud, drums were nearly non-existent (you know how infuriating it is for a drummer to watch another drummer, see sticks moving all over the heads, and hear nothing!) Finally, the singers (David and one backup) weren’t bad, but the backup singer’s mic was distinctively more crisp than the lead.
Oh well, they still entertained, and his acoustic solo time, made up for the bad sound. I was surprised though, because he didn’t do As Above, So Below! That was a bit of downer. (The Queen was mad). We waited the whole time for it – never happened. The band was accessible after the show, which is always cool. The bass player even said that he told Anthony they should do As Above – win some, lose some.
Overall, it was good show. If I was to grade it, I’d say it earned a B-, or 7.8 out of 10. (But I don’t give grades).
AKOFENA ARTS - IT'S A VIBE 