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Follow me on twitter @JohnSimonJSD for updates!

Recording Artist V.V. Brown

Recording artist V.V. Brown is absolutely one of our favorites. To our surprise, we had the pleasure of seeing this musical genius perform at the Ann Taylor Fall 2010 presentation. Brown performed songs from her new album, “Travelling Like The Light”, including Shark in the Water, Bottles, and Back in Time. V.V. Brown‘s album will be available April 20th in the US. As a special treat for JohnSimonDaily readers, we have exclusive video of her performance. ENJOY!

V.V. Brown performs at Ann Taylor Fall 2010 presentation (Part 1)

V.V. Brown performs at Ann Taylor Fall 2010 presentation (Part 2)

V.V. Brown performs at Ann Taylor Fall 2010 presentation (Part 3)

V.V. Brown performs at Ann Taylor Fall 2010 presentation (Part 4)

When thousands of Giant Step email subscribers received the email announcement of an Erykah Badu “secret show” at Good Units in the Hudson Hotel, everyone scrambled to purchase their ticket and get the word out to their friends. Tickets sold out faster than you could think about your favorite Erykah Badu song. With the anticipation of the release of her fifth album New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, this was sure to be an exciting show.

I have seen Erykah Badu several times and have never been disappointed until this particular show. Thousands of her fans were subjected to three horrible opening acts that made a middle school talent show look like Grammy Award winning performances. I was cool with the electronic sounds of MNDR and her one woman band. Even though I couldn’t understand anything she was singing, her energy on stage made me want to search for a glow-stick to wave in the air. From there, it went down hill to the point that the last act, Spank Rock, was booed off the stage for overly sexual explicit lyrics. By 12:30a.m. the crowd was becoming very restless. Reading Erykah Badu’s posts on social networking site Twitter weren’t making it any better, “5 minutes away from my not-so-secret show…”. That 5 minutes turned into a 20 minute wait. ”On 30th and 8th” she tweeted, by this time the DJ tried to pacify us by playing tracks from her new CD. I began to wonder; if the DJ is playing this, what is she going to perform? At 1:43a.m. her band took the stage and her back up singers took their places. Erykah took the stage, and without an apology or acknowledging her tardiness, began to perform a cohesive string of tunes from her albums Baduizm, Mama’s Gun, Worldwide Underground, and New Amerykah, Part One: 4th World War.

Seeing Erykah Badu in an intimate setting like Good Units at the Hudson Hotel was a major treat, but her performance wasn’t anything different from what I had already seen her do a year ago at Radio City Music Hall or at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Summer Concert Series at Wingate Field in Brooklyn. Don’t get me wrong, for a fan who had never seen her perform live, she definitely put on an amazing show for them. For those fans, like myself, who had seen her perform several times, left felling very slighted. We were looking for the fresh new Badu with new material and only got a taste of one new track, Window Seat, off the new release. By 2:45a.m. the show had concluded. Many left with a bitter taste in their mouth towards Erykah Badu. The over 5 hour experience left many exhausted and questioning whether to ever see Erykah Badu perform live again. I asked myself the same question. As of right now, I don’t care to see her perform, but maybe that will change when the soreness in my feet and the aching in my back goes away. Maybe then I will decide to purchase a ticket for an Erykah Badu show.

New Amerykah, Part Two: Return of the Ankh will be released Tuesday, March 30th. For more information and to view the official music video for Window Seat, visit www.erykahbadu.com

Video of Erykah Badu Performance

Erykah Badu Part 1

Erykah Badu Part 2

Erykah Badu Part 3

Erykah Badu Part 4

Erykah Badu Part 5

Erykah Badu Part 6

Erykah Badu Part 7

Erykah Badu Part 8

Erykah Badu Part 9

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