The Soulcialista

On this past Monday, at Rams Head, Baltimore was blessed with the appearance of Raphael Saadiq! Let me say that this show was the best performance I have seen EVER…or at least top 3! Needless to say I would have been disappointed if it was not the bomb seeing that he has been in the game for what seems like forever.

I cant express how excited I was to be there and how mad I was that I left my camera at home! But my good friends Mickey Dunn at WMUR and DJ Phaze made sure I was covered with pics and video (Gypsy Soul peeps hold each other dizzown!!! lol)

My excitement almost was crushed when I walked in to Rams Head about 7:30, the floor was semi-empty, and Im thinking-are these people crazy? No one came to see Ray Ray? But I promptly took a spot in the front row, all up on the stage and waited patiently to turn into one of the groupsters (don’t judge me). He does that to me. Raphael Saadiq is a genius, one of the most prolific musicians of this lifetime and a lot of people are so fast asleep. OMG his production is off the charts and the cords with guitar and violin that he creates…smh…wake up people to some good music…I digress.

Eventually the venue became packed and the lights dimmed (o yeah whoever was djin did the damn thing, that mix was great! What you know about Bilal’s “Hollywood”?) and three highly energetic people took the stage. I had no idea he had an opener. They were called Tha Boogie and I boogied! They were very different, kinda reminded me of a Jdavey, Andre 3000 type and I enjoyed it. The crowd seemed caught off guard but The Boogie held their own, rocked it and gained a couple of fans. Seriously, if I find their cd im getting it. They were chaotically coordinated and fun, I can dig that.

After about 4 songs they retreated to the darkness and we waited for Ray Ray. His band took the stage, looking dapper, his background singers appeared, decked out in retro garb and Mr. Saadiq emerged in a banana suit looking fine as fine can be! I swear his smile almost blinded us lucky few in the first couple of rows…can I say toothpaste endorsement???

He performed several hits from his recent album The Way I See It including “Love That Girl”, “Staying In Love”, and “100 Yard Dash” among other great hits. The show was so incredible because it had all the right elements: An elegantly coordinated band, exceptional musicians, talented vocalists, dynamic audience interaction, and a man who knows how to work the crowd and command the stage.

The set list included songs like “Lay Your Head On My Pillow” “ Anniversary” It Never Rains in Southern California” “Dance Tonight” (his background singer did a great job) and “Ask Of You”. We, the audience sopped it up, the ladies swooned (I was one of them), the men took advantage of the syrupy sweet atmosphere and held their ladies while we all swayed to the slow songs and vigorously clapped along to the keyed up selections.

I really do believe that Raphael Saadiq is in a good place. He looked radiant (that doesn’t seem like a good word for a man but he glowed, im sure the bright yellow suit helped this perception) and confident and it all came thru in the show. The way he played the guitar was entrancing. When he played the cords to “Skyy, never felt this way before” he took us all to another world.

Before leaving us he touched hands, signed autographs, and gave a lot of love to his supporters, that’s something I really appreciate in an artists.

If you missed this show you missed one of the most amazing musical offerings ever…straight face. This is a memory I will keep forever. Come back soon Ray Ray!

Support live music yall, there is truly nothing like it.