Live from Lincoln Center: Leslie Odom Jr.

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!