Saw Erykah Badu, in Durham, on Valentine's Day.

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The show started pretty late because that crazy wind storm that beat up the east coast delayed her plane. They delayed the start by a half hour (and sent an email to tell us that) - which gave us more time to linger over dinner. After the opener, an announcer got on the stage and told us that her plane had landed, and again to tell us that she was in the car, and again that she was in the building. She probably didn't start until 10:15 or so. And then the venue cut it off at 12:15 (turned on the house lights in the middle of a song). But she played a good set. Really, it was fantastic. She's so engaging, and so cleva. Her band was great and she kept them on a short leash: starting and stopping them with flips of her hand, making them do tricks.

It was a seated show, so there was some drama when a woman in front of us wouldn't sit down. Rows and rows of people yelling at her to sit, but she wouldn't. And then she turned around and told us all to fuck off. That got things cookin. Then there were three visits from the usher, once with a policeman in tow. They eventually moved her up way up front, and everyone was happy after that.

Sound was good. The songs were a bit stripped down from what they were on the records, but that just left more room for her to shine.

I thought I had all her records, but I guess not, because it seemed like I didn't know about half the songs. Still, she's good enough at what she does that they were fun all anyway. And now I know there's more Badu to purchase.

"Mali Music" opened. That's the stage name for Kortney Jamaal Pollard (and his band, I guess). His stuff ranged from reggae-flavored rap to contemporary Christian to jazzy piano ballads. He's a good pianist and has really nice singing voice, so I liked the piano stuff the best. Plus, being so simple, it sounded the best - given the traditional opening-band sound handicap. He was nominated for a couple of Grammys.