Crescendos all night!

It’s a crime that “Love 4 Sale” never got an official release. It’s an amazing album. But that didn’t stop Bilal from filling the Highline Ballroom with a crowd that was singing and dancing along to the songs from that unreleased album alongside his well-known classics.

With support from a band filled with talent like the great Robert Glasper on keys and Chris Dave on drums (“Chris Dave, motherfuckers!” was the text I got this morning from my boy Ollie, an amazing drummer in his own right.), the music was wholly on point. They even slipped from Bilal’s “All for Love” to one of Glasper’s now-standard smooth jazz (but funky!) Dilla tributes; this one was “Fall in Love”. The rest of the band consisted of bass, electric guitar, a horn section, and two back up singers – one of which, a big unassuming dude in a yankees cap, was hitting high falsetto notes to rival the headliner!

The music went from faithful renditions of the songs to fun remixes that bounced from blues to gospel to full on rock. The band cut loose with a rendition of Jimi Hendrix “Purple Haze” that led beautifully in to Bilal’s “Fast Lane”. And all the while, Bilal is being silly and laughing on stage with his band mates. I’ve seen shows where he’s been a hot mess and lines like “I wish I was drug free…” from “Sometimes” really make sense. But for this show he was clear-headed and focused. Everything from the music to the antics and camaraderie on stage to the lighting was working together as each song built in intensity. You couldn’t help but get swept up in it. And for an artist without an album out, that’s more than you could ask for.

o:{too many links? hurmm...maybe.}