Must See: Solange At Webster Hall, February 2013
Around two years ago, my take on Solange Knowles was essentially please meet Beyonces younger, smarter sister and it was an opinion upheld through a pretty good 2008 sophomore album Sol-Angel and the Hadley St. Dreams, and a terrific spate of appearances with Of Montreal, capped by the best cover of 2009, her take on Dirty Projectors "Stillness Is The Move."
But then Solange played around less, got a touch too arty and last years’ True, while not bad by any means, rested hard on “Losing You” which didn't’t even break r&b. And while I admire Dev Hynes as much as the next guy and loved his work as Blood Orange in 2011, how much does the next guy think of Dev Hynes? If you add to the craziness last Christmas and I didn't’t even seriously consider going to Bowery Ballroom to check her out.
My friend Steve Diamond did and while it took Solange a coupla songs to get cooking, eventually she got there and not only Steve but everybody else who saw her was seriously awed. Including big sister who was seen in the audience.
So the news that Solange was playing at Webster hall on Friday February 20th was met by me at least with howls of delight not unlike the sound effect that scratches through “Losing You”. No more prevaricating, the bet is Solange brings it on this high profile concert and later this you when the True EP becomes an album, my bet is it will be revealed as better than the shrugs I’ve been giving it.
