Kelis concert review
By Melisa Tang
Shepherd's
Bush Empire, London - 26 August 2004
She’s a retro chic famed for her funky twist on modern R&B and hip hop music, not to mention her quirky dress sense. Since she exploded on the scene in 1998 at the tender age of 19, Kelis Rogers has fought an uphill battle to win over the hearts and minds of the mainstream R&B/pop audience. Looking at the turn-up now in the packed out Shepherd’s Bush Empire, you’d never have thought that this was an artist who six years ago, could not muster enough support to release her debut album in the States. She was a huge hit across the Atlantic though, and we Europeans loved her fiery attitude.
After the cancellation of this summer’s ‘Hip Hop Don’t Stop’ tour, where Miss Rogers was set to perform alongside Talib Kweli and Missy Elliot, Kelis fans snapped up the chance to see the feisty singer live at every opportunity: first V Festival, then Edinburgh’s T on the Fringe, and now Shepherd’s Bush.
These shows never start on time, and as usual, the crowd were left to entertain themselves for an hour before the support act, Verbalicious, came on. This female rapper from Leeds couldn’t have been older than 16, and although she tried her best, the crowd weren’t best pleased, especially when she sang “I want you to meet my daddy…” Er, no thanks.
An hour and a half later, word had it that Kelis had just entered the building and sure enough, her DJ came out to spin some beats for the now restless audience. Knowing how to get the crowd going, he threw on Terror Squad’s ‘Lean Back’, without doubt the hottest track of the summer, and had everybody doing the ‘Lean Back’ dance within seconds.
A few cuts later and Kelis, accompanied by a full live band, appeared onstage to hundreds of cheers and screams from her dedicated fans. Launching into the rock-tinged ‘Keep It Down’, Kelis threw the crowd into a frenzy with her pure energy and stage presence, rocking out all over the stage in her fitted top, denim mini skirt and Air Force Ones.
Only two songs in, and Kelis was already telling us about her personal pursuits, telling the crowd, “I don’t know about here in London, but in Harlem, we like to get naughty in public. Do you guys like having sex in public?!” Thrusting her hips and shaking her booty to the frisky ‘In Public’ featuring fiancé Nas, Kelis writhed around the stage, singing “Let’s get it on in public/ just let it go I promise that you’ll love it.”
Taking it back to her first two albums, Kelis performed ‘Young, Fresh & New’ from ‘Wonderland’, and ‘Get Along With You’ from her debut album ‘Kaleidoscope’. She also sang her very first single, the UK No.1 smash ‘Caught Out There’, with the ladies in the crowd screaming along with Kelis, “I hate you so much right now, AARRRGGGHHH!!!”
She had her fans bouncing with her as soon as the beat for ‘Millionaire’ featuring OutKast’s André 3000 came on, the third single to be taken from her latest album ‘Tasty’. The former model then sang the gorgeous ‘Attention’, before explaining to the audience that due to the heavy use of weed during her teens, she sometimes forgot her own songwords! Bringing out her scribbled lyrics, much to everyone’s amusement, she began to showcase her powerful voice on an extended version of ‘Yesterday (Rolling Through The Hood)’.
Just when people thought the songstress had finished her set, the Harlem honey reappeared to wrap up the night with her hits ‘Trick Me’ and ‘Milkshake’, stripping off her top in the last verse to show her “milkshake” in sexy lingerie.
Having marked her territory with a show-stopping performance at the sold out Shepherd’s Bush Empire, and the release of ‘Tasty’, arguably her best album to date, Kelis has shown the world that she really is a shining star.
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