Un'
(l^bseruer
November 3, 1999
-< Focus >-
Page 5
African rhythms. Euro-style and Hip-Hop music at Roseland Theatre.
I
beyond.
Olu, the Harlem bred and b om artist
that opened M onday nights tour
perform ance was ju st the right touch
that this concert bill needed. Not
only does Olu hold his ow n spotlight
on the tour w ith his chart clim bing
hit” Baby C an ’t Leave it A lone”,
Olu and his gifted band was enough
for an encore perform ance.
Ron Enright, local front m an and
publicity person for the past three
y e a rs fo r D ire c t P ro d u c tio n s ,
expressed during our interview that
he was first contacted about a year
ago by “ Les N ubians’ ’ label m anager
(H igher Octave) as w ell as their
agency manager.
Ron took a strong interest in adding
Portland to the list o f the “ Les
N ubians" tour.
But ju st to m ake sure, Ron had to go
out and buy the project and since
then, E nright stated, h e ’s been
“hooked!” He did som e research by
asking Portlanders about w hat they
thought about the C D project and
mostly everyone contended without
hesitation that the French female
d u o ’s project was the bom b.
The
p r o m o te rs
o f D ire c t
Productions have been successfully
giving props to hip-hop for over the
past few years. K udos to their
genius, all-out concert bill o f the
“O utkast” & “ Black Eyed Peas”
showcase. Props to introducing
g e n e ra tio n -x ’ers to the B aby
B o o m ers as D irec t h o ste d the
spotlight for one o f the last poets,
the honorable “G il Scott-H eron” ,
w h o re c e n tly a p p e a re d a t the
A laddin Theater. A nd definitely
not to go w ithout m ention, w hen o f
speaking rap o f pioneers, “ Public
Enem y” w ho also recently elevated
and educated Portland ears, young
and old, to a R oseland style, “Fight
the Pow er” hip-hop perform ance.
Not only is it the goal o f D irect to
b rin g th e sa m e ty p e o f h y p e
perform ances that headlining artist
show case at larger venues in others
c itie s , th e y a re in p ro d u c tio n
planning o f bringing the sam e al la
carte, bust-a-gut, urban com edians
that prem iere on the D e f C om edy
Jam and BET Com ic V iew com edy
circu it. W ith D irec ts c re ativ e
planning, along w ith an aggressive
but strategic business attitude, it’s
no w onder that their events are more
than successful.
The sister-duo w as caught totally
by surprise by the love that the
Roseland crow d gave. A nd because
o f the overw helm ing reception,
“Les N ubians” w elcom ed the crowd
into w hat they title their m usical
perform ance o f as “H om e.” “This
is our first tim e here in Portland and
w hat w e did n ’t expect is to feel so at
home! A re you feelin’ us Portland?!
. . . Because w e 're feelin ’ you!
Portland you are giving us much
love ladies and gentlem en.. .and we
love it!” exclaim ed Helen.
T hey then opened up for the second
h alfo f theirperform ance by blessing
the crow d with som e French rapping
on die their take o f Sade ’ s “Sweetest
T aboo” titled “T abou” ...a definite
im proved and extra sw eet rendition
o f this classic.
N ew “ Les N ubians” fan, C assie
M athieson stated “ W ith them being
a F rench b an d , I th o u g h t they
translated w ell w ith the audience.
The vibe w as good. I ’m am azed
that even w ith ju st the one album,
they not only maintained, but rocked
the show well. They filled the whole
arena. They definitely m ade it easy
for the crow d to get their m oney’s
w orth and then som e.”
T he crow d listened, lounged and
loved all the perform ances o f the
sexy “Em brasse-M oi”, the lyrical
love o f “M akeda” as w ell as two
o f their single tracks “ D em ain”
and “Les Portes du
Souvenir.” B ut m uch to the
surprise o f the crow d, it was
actually “ Les N ubians” encore
and perfect w ay o f closing out a
polished perform ance by ending
the evening with a backdrop o f
Stevie W onder beats and blends.
T he encore lyrically m assaged a
9 0 ’s version o fh ail and honor to,
w hom the “ Les N ubians” often
com m ent as “one o f the artist
w h o h e a v ily in flu e n c e d o u r
A frican and Euro-soul style.”
T hey ended the evening with
m usical shout-outs and involved
th e ir fa n s w ith m e lo d io u s
sillouhettes o f the Stevie W onder
classic “H otter Than July.” “Les
N ubians” w ant their following
o f fans to appreciate m usic from
all genres.
W hether their fusing hip-hop,
jazz, Euro-funk or r&b, they want
their fans to know they ’ re always
going to com e w ith flava’.
The French and English fluent
“ L e s N u b ia n s ” n o t o n ly
aquatinted them selves w ith their
northwest-based fans, but also made
sure that their fans gave props to
th e ir liv e fu n k e n s e m b le an d
background singers.
Byrd, a Portland “ Les N ubians” fan
from day one com m ented that they
w ere “phat, fresh and funky...I
couldn’t have asked for more. It’s
the type o f entertainment that makes
you say...hot done...that was w orth
it!”
So trust, if this sister-duo can m ake
even the m ost ballin-shot caller, the
ro u g h est roughneck as w ell as
generation x-ers harm onize during
a shows encore o f the back-in the
day Stevie W onder M otow n classic
“ H otter Than July” in the midst o f a
Portland winter, then y e s ... we be
jam m in ’ and will be jam m in ’ and
ju m p in ’ for another “Les N ubians”
perform ance soon. “Les N ubians”
w ere tres m agnifique ... They were
very magnificent!
n sea-worthy
treat suitable
for landlubbers
of all ages.”
/Vnwdn
Nm V -k
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