Take A Note From My Philosophy

D’Angelo and The Vanguard @ Forest Hills Tennis Stadium 6/21/2015
Ain’t That Easy -> jam / Betray My Heart / Spanish Joint / Really Love / The Charade / Brown Sugar / Sugah Daddy -> extended funk jam // Till It’s Done (Tutu) / Untitled (How Does It Feel?)

D’Angelo and The Vanguard “Sugah Daddy”

Due to a rain delay during Gary Clark Jr.’s opening set and the fact that all shows at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium must be over by 10 p.m., D’Angelo had to cut the entire second set of his show on this tour from this gig. And while it breaks my heart a bit that he had to skip “Another Life” and “Back to the Future,” two of my favorite songs he’s ever done, this show was so generous it hardly mattered. Maybe not generous in terms of song quantity – there were only 9 proper songs in a 100 minute performance – but certainly in terms of extended grooves and D’Angelo’s considerable showmanship. After the show my friend Sean pointed out that it’s hard to imagine that the guy up there on stage leading a band through these showstopping funk jams is any kind of recluse, and yeah, it kinda is. But even when D’Angelo is tapping into the most over the top elements of James Brown, Prince, and Sly, he seems a bit aloof and unknowable. I think that’s a big part of his appeal, really – he’s the introvert with a sexy mystique, and the sort of person who doesn’t speak up until he’s fully digested a idea and is ready to express a fully considered thought.

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