This is
the second of the four-part Lincoln Center concert series. Having seen Leslie Odom Jr. perform live back
in March, I was already acquainted with a lot of the numbers he did, but you
really can’t go wrong with that voice, and I was more than happy to hear them
again.
Like I
said, this was definitely a familiar concert.
Odom performed with the same band he had when he came to Minnesota – I
recognized his wildly-enthusiastic piano player – and quite a few of the songs
were the same. That makes sense,
though. I think most, if not all, of
them are from his album, and if these concerts are about including songs that
are of personal significance to each artist, he already did that work in
choosing them for his record. I really
didn’t mind hearing these songs again.
They were all terrific songs, I liked his arrangements, and of course,
he sang them beautifully. Highlights for
me included “Winter Song” by Sarah Bareilles, “Joey, Joey, Joey” from The Most Happy Fella, and “Without You”
from RENT.
Still,
there were a handful of songs I hadn’t heard him do before, particularly in the
second half of the concert. I really
enjoyed his lovely rendition of “At Your Best (You are Love)” by the Isley
Brothers, and he closed the show fittingly with “The Party’s Over” (from Bells are Ringing, but it’s also been
performed by the likes of Nat King Cole and Shirley Bassey.) Odom had one guest for the evening – his
wife, actress Nicolette Robinson, who came out to share a duet with him.
The
format of the program was a little different than the Sutton Foster concert. Whereas Foster’s kept the
camera on the stage the whole time and included her occasional remarks between
songs, Odom’s only showed the song performances themselves, replacing the
between-song patter with short pre-filmed bits that were brief interviews
overlaid onto footage of Odom rehearsing/walking through the city. There, he discussed what his songs meant to
him and his personal history with them.
Some nice, thoughtful comments, and for some reason, I always enjoy
seeing performers rehearse in their street clothes.
One
complaint, however – no Hamilton! Odom even talked about it in one of his
interview clips, returning to the theatre and discussing the show’s importance
to him. I thought for sure it was
leading into “Wait for It” or “Dear Theodosia,” but then he pivoted to “Joey,
Joey, Joey” (for the theme of knowing when to leave, even when it’s still
good.) Then, I thought he was saving it
for the end, but nothing! That really
surprised me. Come on, man – give the
people what they want!
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