D'Angelo Live in London at O2 Academy Brixton

D’angelo has not needed much of an introduction since his 2^nd album Voodoo; plainly speaking his music is a testament to itself. Voodoo was mentioned as one of best albums of the Millennium, since then we have had to wait unwilling for 12 whole years for his return. Late 2011, D’angelo announced his European D-Tour 2012 (11 dates across Europe), a comeback tour which was long overdue, eagerly awaited, very much anticipated with reported news from Questlove that D’Angelo’s 3rd studio album "James River" was 97% done!

Fast-forwarding to D’angelo’s initial ‘One night only’ concert date in London at the O2 Brixton Academy on the 3^rd February, his first of two UK shows. D’angelo’s dedicated fans came out on the coldest night of 2012 so far, to find out if the notably coined ‘R&B Jesus’ was indeed really BACK with the ability to belt out those riffs and screams we love him for and of course to see if he was in good health.

The night opened with supporting act upcoming soul singer Bluey Robinson, British comedian Kojo and was followed by a lengthy R&B and Old Skool Hip-Hop DJ mix. The crowd’s excitement escalated just after 9pm, the lights dimmed down, D’angelo was set to grace the stage any minute and we were ready for him! But he left us waiting just a little while longer as he channelled in his inner Prince, James Brown and Marvin Gaye personas backstage.

As his nine-piece band entered the stage at 9.26pm, the pulsating opening bars of ‘Playa Playa’ started and the crowd went wild, we could all hear D’angelo singing but he was no where to be seen on stage. Doubts started to enter the some of the audiences mind – Had he bailed? Was this a recording? But before any speculation could settle in our minds D’Angelo entered left of the stage like a true rock star decked out in black with his guitar, that eye candy smile and went straight into a dark funky groove of ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’.

Yes, the man of great mystery was finally BACK!  And back in full affect with flawless vocal ability. He then fired off a Jimmy Hendrix-style riff on his electric guitar and requested we shout out the song title after the count of three, at his beckoning everyone roared with excitement through the venue ‘CHICKEN GREASE’. Right at that moment he had us eating out the palm of his hand as he delivered 'Devil’s Pie' and a cover of Parliament’s 'I’ve Been Watching You'.

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D’angelo proves a visual spectacle, showing us that he is far from your archetypal R&B, neo-soul artist, as he smoothly rocked out a 22 minute version of ‘Shit, Damn, Motherf***er’ over a ticking rimshot groove. His nine-piece band blended so immaculately on stage, particularly with the beast drummer Chris Dave, legendary bassist Pino Palladino and his four backing singers ripping it apart with their tight refined harmonies.

However, the highlight of the night was when D’angelo got intimate with the crowd with the piano and played a beautiful acoustic medley of all the favourite classics ‘Me And Those Dreamin Eyes of Mine’,‘Brown Sugar’, ‘Africa’, ‘One Mo’Gin’ ‘Spanish Joint’ ‘Cruisin’, ‘Higher’ and ‘Jonz in My Bonz’ which turned into a sing-a-long. The emotional depths of these songs were felt from every audience member and at that point, it was as if he had never left. This was then followed by infamous chords of ‘Untitled (How Does it Feel?). As D’Angelo played the first few chords and murmured the first note the crowd went into frenzy. He then abruptly stopped, moving away from the piano, teasing us and grinning until we persuade him with our screams to continue playing. It was evident that D’angelo was in his habitat, enjoyed being on stage and commanding such attention.

He then treated us, by introducing new material from his eagerly awaited album – James River, ‘The Charade’ and the supertight track ‘Sugar Daddy’. As he thanked the crowd and walked off the stage the crowd began to roar, they wanted to hear more, as they chanted D’angelo came out performing a remixed version of classic Brown Sugar. Although there has been mixed reviews with the way D’angelo remixed the classic, it was good to see the evolution of such a visionary artist transform his 1995 music track into something of wonder and great expressive power, gearing us up for his new sound. 

As D’angelo belted his last scream of the night and bid the crowd goodnight I was left quite drained (as if I just partied into the New Year) but also lost in wonder why his sabbatical took so long. Musician and music producer Mark de Clive-Lowe, stated that D’angelo made history musically on his Voodoo tour in 2000 at the Brixton Academy and 12 year later D’angelo he did it again with one of the best comebacks on this European D-Tour 2012 at Brixton Academy – chillingly brilliant.

Just Vibe!

At this time, I would like to thank Phat Night for granting us press access to one of the most highly anticipated comeback gigs. 

Written by: Jummy Bankè

Photos: Gabrielle Smith