By Fiona McKinson

Equinox, London, 11 December 2002.

I don't like to write bad reviews but this time the truth has to come out no matter what. When you approach a venue and there are no queues, it is usually a bad start. Ok it was late, but if you enter and the crowds are still lacking, you have the right to fret.

It was billed as Truth Hurts in concert, but I would have called it Truth Hurts the appearence. The Equinox is not your usual concert venue, so it was to be expected that there would be a rave included with the ticket, however not even the Choice FM DJ's could rev the crowd up, and save the day. Respect to the small groups of people dotted around the vast dance floor shaking their thang' and having a good time regardless.

I like many others, got my drink and went upstairs to sit down and observe. They were filming on the landing - but there was nothing entertaining going on. The first PA eventually arrived - a young lady in a blue tracksuit, 'Lashey', I think the name was, apologies if the name is either a) incorrectly spelt or b) totally wrong, but I felt so disillusioned, I could not focus. Her dancers were good and her voice was ok. She apparently wrote her first album, but her performance and opportunity to show off her lyrics was marred by engineering problems. I cannot give my honest opinion, because at the time, I really just wanted to see Truth and get out of there.

The next PA was a guy - by this point I had lost so much interest that I cannot even remember his name. It is a shame though because the guy could sing and was worthy of supporting Joe as was announced. I felt for him as the floor got emptier and emptier, (that's pretty deep for a floor that was already thinly covered by footprints.)

Finally Truth came out. For once, I easily found my way to the front. Truth performed the Intro to her album. She looked naturally beautiful wearing beige leather pants, tan ankle boots, a white ribbed vest and denim jacket. Her two dancers AKA her LA home-girls were also rocking denims and white vest with white trainers. They got down as Truth dropped her party track. It was only semi-appropriate. She put on a brave and professional face urging the people to come down from the balcony to fill up the floor if possible, but they were not willing to accommodate her. She quickly moved on to her next single 'Truth' which, she announced was written and produced by R. Kelly whose name went down like lead. She began to sing to a Guy in a blue shirt at the front of the stage, about how the "Truth is coming to get cha" - The way he was leering at her, I don't think he'd mind coming clean with her.

A quick costume change into a Sari, was followed by her next performance of the anthem, 'Addictive', however, just as quickly as their outfits went on, they were off. The stage was empty before I even had a chance to get my camera out.

So the rave was missing and 3 songs does not make a concert.She is a big enough name not to be a PA; she should have just come on first and let us go home early, because there was no hype by the time she arrived. No disrespect to the other PA's but the lack of a vibe meant that they did not get the attention they deserved anyway. Case in point, the last PA was good, but again I did not catch her name because I was on my way out like many others. She actually seemed to get more time than Truth and that cannot be right.

As the girl in the toilet said, you have to feel sorry for her because it is supposed to be the main attraction that comes on last. No one waited for 3am, the Promoters could not possibly have any more surprises in store for us and even if they did, we did not want them. I wonder if I will ever be able to persuade my friend to go anywhere with me again. I wasted my money it was a depressing anticlimax. I don't want to risk that again. I felt embarrassed for Truth because she still has great vocals, and delivered a good performance. She is worth seeing; I'll just wait until she holds a proper concert such as Wembley. The album is wicked - check my review on this site, but the event was a flop - it will not mar the artist, but someone will pay....

Return To Concert Review Archive

US Music | Clubs | Front Page | UK Music | Events