Post by fugees-online on Dec 5, 2005 11:05:25 GMT 1
Review by Stine from laurynet.com
Okay guys... Review time! I showed up to the concert at 17:00 and the doors were supposed to open at 18:30. When I arrived I was surprised about how few people had showed up, I guess there was only about 10 people! I sat in line and waited and waited... The doors were finally opened at around 19:00 and I went to the wardrobe to give them my coat (Advise: If you wanna stand at the front row, just bring a big bag to have your jacket in - It takes too much time to wait for the wardrobe!). Then I went inside and the venue turned out to be so big! I got a nice spot in the 2nd row, with this very short girl infront of me, so I had a perfect view of the stage! Then we waited some more and at 20:00 the support act came on, nothing special to say about her. When she was finished some people, that I guess were working for Fugees (They were all black and had dreadlocks lol), started to tune the instruments, check the microphones etc. This took quite a long time, cause they seemed really serious about their work, they even washed the floor on stage! Then FINALLY the lights went out and the DJ started doing his thing at around 21:30 - He was really talented and the crowd loved him! While he was doing that, each of the band members came out and started jamming along on their instruments. It was so cool. About 15 minutes later the intire band (Not Fugees, but the people who played the instruments) was on stage, I dunno how many people were in the band, but it was quite big. The crowd was going crazy at this point! Then you could hear Wyclef starting to say some stuff in the mic, just random things like "yo yo yo"... And then he came out on stage, grapped his guitar and started on a very cool version of No Woman, No Cry - The crowd was so extremely loud at this point, that you almost couldn't hear what he was singing! Then Pras came out real quick and left again, I guess it was a mistake or something. When the song was over, Clef said "If you wanna see all the Fugees on the same stage at the same time, put your hands like this!". The Nappy Heads remix started, the crowd went nuts and then out came Pras and a few moments later LAURYN! I was totally shocked about 2 things, no 3 things actually: 1. She was wearing the most horrible wig I've seen 'till this date! I looks better in the pics than what it did in real life - The hair itself was okay, but the bangs were so ugly! They were long in the middle and then shorter to the sides. 2. She was wearing a huge fur! 3. Girl was smiling all over her face!!! I couldn't believe that! And she basically didn't stop smiling during the intire show. I had eyecontact with her several times where she smiled at me and she did this with loads of people in the crowd - I'm just teling you this, because that's not the kind of contact she's been having with her audience for a long time. The only times I think she looked not happy or angry, was whenever Wyclef was saying something "funny" to the crowd - To me it looked like she had definitely not worked out her issues with him. Anyways, after Nappy Heads was over Lauryn said "Heey, heeey!", just like at the MOBO awards and then she also went: "Long time, long time!". And then the show had started! I can't remember the correct order of the songs, so let me just start by telling you about L's solo songs. The first one she played was "Lost Ones" and it was in the beginning of the show... I don't think the audience had expected her to spit that one, cause they screamed so loud when it came. She just sang it the same way as it was on the album and when the chorus came, the 3 back-up singers from her EU tour came out on stage and they stayed there to the end of the show. When the song was almost over, she started on the "It's funny how money change a situation, it's funny how money... etc." and then did that for a long time and then started on "now now howcome... etc." - It sounded absolutely fantastic! It was a little different then what I've heard before, cause she usually does it in the beginning of the verses, but this time she did it in the end of the song. Wyclef was in the back during the track and Pras was rapping along with Lauryn... Just like that guy did at the MTV awards back in the day. Next solo song was Ex Factor and it was in the very end of the show. Wyclef said something like "I think we should hear one more song from Ms. Hill and my personal choice would be Ex Factor" and then Lauryn went "I'm not sure, cause this is a funky show and I don't wanna play a slow song... But let's just try and see what happens!". It was just a regular version of the song, nothing new. In the end when the "care for me, care for me, said you'd be there for me... etc." came, the back up singers sang SO loud! It felt like the roof was about to come off or something. During Ex Factor, Pras and Wyclef were both playing percussion. Very last song af the show was Doo Wop. They were about to finish, Wyclef was about to say good-bye and then Lauryn went "Hold up, hold up... I've got this 1 last song I really feel like performing!" and Wyclef was like "What?!"... Then she came over and whispered in his ear and then he whispered in the DJ's ear and then Wyclef said something like "This is a Fugees show, you can always expect something impulsive to happen". Then she did Doo Wop and again the audience loved it. Then the show was over and Lauryn was the last to leave the stage. Before she went, she said "Thanks you so much for coming out tonight!". Let me see what else I can remember... You'll get in in short sentenses, cause I need to get ready for today's concert!
- At one point, Wyclef couln't get his guitar to play properly and then he said "My guitar has been smoking too much weed tonight!".
- Lauryn corrected the band a few times. She also did the "beat-boxing".
- They did a lot of... Well I dunno what to call it, but after the songs were over, they continued playing, sorta freestylin'.
- Lauryn disappeared from the stage sometimes. Once I saw her standing in backstage area, getting her wig fixed.
- Before they played The Beast, Wyclef said: "If there's one thing the Fugees don't like, then it's police brutality.
- Pras and Wyclef both jumped into the crowd.
- Lauryn was CONTANTLY dancing. And her pants were too long, so she had to pull them up sometimes. She was wearing purple/pink shoes.
- They did this thing towards the end, where they split the crowd in 3 parts and then they see which part can make the most noise. I was at "Lauryn's side"!
- Wyclef constantly said "C'mon, make so much noise you'll make my ears bleed!"
All in all it was an amazing show, it was much better than I had hoped for - Even tho' it wasn't the 3 hour show with solo performances I had expected. Lauryn's voice has definitely improved and she didn't lose her breath when she was rapping.
Before the show I couldn't imagine Fugees being together again and I didn't think it was possible for Lauryn to still be herself and perform like she did on her solo tour. I was afraid she would try to act all young and ghetto. Fortunately, that was not what she did. The friendship that you could sense in the Fugees days is totally gone and today it's just 3 individuals on stage. But I think that professionally they are great together and they perform so well together, that it doesn't really matter. Yall that are going are not gonna see Fugees, you're gonna see Lauryn, Clef and Pras - And that is just as good!
One last thing: Was Pras even there?! He sure as hell didn't do anything to impress me, most of the times he was just gazing into the air.
Okay guys... Review time! I showed up to the concert at 17:00 and the doors were supposed to open at 18:30. When I arrived I was surprised about how few people had showed up, I guess there was only about 10 people! I sat in line and waited and waited... The doors were finally opened at around 19:00 and I went to the wardrobe to give them my coat (Advise: If you wanna stand at the front row, just bring a big bag to have your jacket in - It takes too much time to wait for the wardrobe!). Then I went inside and the venue turned out to be so big! I got a nice spot in the 2nd row, with this very short girl infront of me, so I had a perfect view of the stage! Then we waited some more and at 20:00 the support act came on, nothing special to say about her. When she was finished some people, that I guess were working for Fugees (They were all black and had dreadlocks lol), started to tune the instruments, check the microphones etc. This took quite a long time, cause they seemed really serious about their work, they even washed the floor on stage! Then FINALLY the lights went out and the DJ started doing his thing at around 21:30 - He was really talented and the crowd loved him! While he was doing that, each of the band members came out and started jamming along on their instruments. It was so cool. About 15 minutes later the intire band (Not Fugees, but the people who played the instruments) was on stage, I dunno how many people were in the band, but it was quite big. The crowd was going crazy at this point! Then you could hear Wyclef starting to say some stuff in the mic, just random things like "yo yo yo"... And then he came out on stage, grapped his guitar and started on a very cool version of No Woman, No Cry - The crowd was so extremely loud at this point, that you almost couldn't hear what he was singing! Then Pras came out real quick and left again, I guess it was a mistake or something. When the song was over, Clef said "If you wanna see all the Fugees on the same stage at the same time, put your hands like this!". The Nappy Heads remix started, the crowd went nuts and then out came Pras and a few moments later LAURYN! I was totally shocked about 2 things, no 3 things actually: 1. She was wearing the most horrible wig I've seen 'till this date! I looks better in the pics than what it did in real life - The hair itself was okay, but the bangs were so ugly! They were long in the middle and then shorter to the sides. 2. She was wearing a huge fur! 3. Girl was smiling all over her face!!! I couldn't believe that! And she basically didn't stop smiling during the intire show. I had eyecontact with her several times where she smiled at me and she did this with loads of people in the crowd - I'm just teling you this, because that's not the kind of contact she's been having with her audience for a long time. The only times I think she looked not happy or angry, was whenever Wyclef was saying something "funny" to the crowd - To me it looked like she had definitely not worked out her issues with him. Anyways, after Nappy Heads was over Lauryn said "Heey, heeey!", just like at the MOBO awards and then she also went: "Long time, long time!". And then the show had started! I can't remember the correct order of the songs, so let me just start by telling you about L's solo songs. The first one she played was "Lost Ones" and it was in the beginning of the show... I don't think the audience had expected her to spit that one, cause they screamed so loud when it came. She just sang it the same way as it was on the album and when the chorus came, the 3 back-up singers from her EU tour came out on stage and they stayed there to the end of the show. When the song was almost over, she started on the "It's funny how money change a situation, it's funny how money... etc." and then did that for a long time and then started on "now now howcome... etc." - It sounded absolutely fantastic! It was a little different then what I've heard before, cause she usually does it in the beginning of the verses, but this time she did it in the end of the song. Wyclef was in the back during the track and Pras was rapping along with Lauryn... Just like that guy did at the MTV awards back in the day. Next solo song was Ex Factor and it was in the very end of the show. Wyclef said something like "I think we should hear one more song from Ms. Hill and my personal choice would be Ex Factor" and then Lauryn went "I'm not sure, cause this is a funky show and I don't wanna play a slow song... But let's just try and see what happens!". It was just a regular version of the song, nothing new. In the end when the "care for me, care for me, said you'd be there for me... etc." came, the back up singers sang SO loud! It felt like the roof was about to come off or something. During Ex Factor, Pras and Wyclef were both playing percussion. Very last song af the show was Doo Wop. They were about to finish, Wyclef was about to say good-bye and then Lauryn went "Hold up, hold up... I've got this 1 last song I really feel like performing!" and Wyclef was like "What?!"... Then she came over and whispered in his ear and then he whispered in the DJ's ear and then Wyclef said something like "This is a Fugees show, you can always expect something impulsive to happen". Then she did Doo Wop and again the audience loved it. Then the show was over and Lauryn was the last to leave the stage. Before she went, she said "Thanks you so much for coming out tonight!". Let me see what else I can remember... You'll get in in short sentenses, cause I need to get ready for today's concert!
- At one point, Wyclef couln't get his guitar to play properly and then he said "My guitar has been smoking too much weed tonight!".
- Lauryn corrected the band a few times. She also did the "beat-boxing".
- They did a lot of... Well I dunno what to call it, but after the songs were over, they continued playing, sorta freestylin'.
- Lauryn disappeared from the stage sometimes. Once I saw her standing in backstage area, getting her wig fixed.
- Before they played The Beast, Wyclef said: "If there's one thing the Fugees don't like, then it's police brutality.
- Pras and Wyclef both jumped into the crowd.
- Lauryn was CONTANTLY dancing. And her pants were too long, so she had to pull them up sometimes. She was wearing purple/pink shoes.
- They did this thing towards the end, where they split the crowd in 3 parts and then they see which part can make the most noise. I was at "Lauryn's side"!
- Wyclef constantly said "C'mon, make so much noise you'll make my ears bleed!"
All in all it was an amazing show, it was much better than I had hoped for - Even tho' it wasn't the 3 hour show with solo performances I had expected. Lauryn's voice has definitely improved and she didn't lose her breath when she was rapping.
Before the show I couldn't imagine Fugees being together again and I didn't think it was possible for Lauryn to still be herself and perform like she did on her solo tour. I was afraid she would try to act all young and ghetto. Fortunately, that was not what she did. The friendship that you could sense in the Fugees days is totally gone and today it's just 3 individuals on stage. But I think that professionally they are great together and they perform so well together, that it doesn't really matter. Yall that are going are not gonna see Fugees, you're gonna see Lauryn, Clef and Pras - And that is just as good!
One last thing: Was Pras even there?! He sure as hell didn't do anything to impress me, most of the times he was just gazing into the air.