Luckily the show, while it did start tremendously late, actually did go on. Starting well after 8:30 pm even though it was scheduled for 7, the showâs opener had to be rescheduled. Something caused the cancellation of opener Seun Kuti, and yesterday morning Seattle rapper Sol was asked to fill in for the slot. And of course, since itâs Lauryn fucking Hill, Sol made the drive down to Portland, bringing with him the tremendously talented soul-singer Otieno Terry. The two put on a really great set that included an upbeat performance of their collaboration âCâest La Vieâ and some âFuck Trumpâ sentiments that were pleasing to the audience and got us ready to see the hip-hop legend.
Laurynâs fully fleshed-out band took the stage shortly afterâa 10-piece ensemble that played a lengthy intro that was reminiscent of 1930s Harlem jazz. A trumpeter and saxophonist traded off on high-pitched solos for quite some time before Lauryn casually took her place at center stage. She slid into speedy and Caribbean-style remixes of hits from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill like âEverything is Everything,â âForgive Them Father,â and âLost Ones.â My favorite song of the evening was âEx-Factor,â which she didnât alter past the point of recognition or singing along. On all of her performances though, Laurynâs voice seemed to be as great as itâs ever been, and she can still intuitively feel her way through every ad-lib and complicated run. One thing that was impossible to miss though was that she was obsessed with having her microphone/earphones adjusted every 15 seconds.
I wasnât trippinâ though; I was just grateful to be able to hear and see her in person. And by the way, Lauryn is still stunningly beautiful, even while dressed in a such weird and frumpy outfit: a chunky turtleneck sweater with strange tassels hanging from it, and a floor-length sparkly black pleather skirt. And yet I was still shook from seeing her gorgeous dark complexion, shining smile and bright eyes in person. What a beauty.
Throughout the show the crowd chanted encouragements like âLauryn! Lauryn! Lauryn!â and âWe love you!â as the singer continued to tweak and micromanage the volume of something no one could tell needed adjusting.
Lauryn ended her set with âDoo Wop (That Thing),â which everyone infallibly sang along with. She then told us all to take care of each other and find freedom in these troubled times, and repeatedly instructed us to get home safely. She left the stage while her band continued to play, and then the lights flicked on a couple seconds after the last horn. There was no encore, which wasnât surprising in the least, since it seemed like an unnecessarily frustrating set for the singer. But again, I canât complain. I got to hear a legendary artist live in all her imperfect perfection. And while her performance surpassed my expectations, I wonder how good she would have sounded if there had been a proper soundcheck.