Event: Fusion Entertainment Presents "An Acoustic Affair" featuring Kameron Corvet. November 7^th 2008

It was quite cold the night of Friday November 7^th I was already out and underdressed for the weather and the show. Still I found myself parking on Upper Third Street and shuffling down the windy side of Midtown towards the local venue that I know best. I guess the draw for me was seeing Kameron Corvet's name on the flyer for this acoustic affair. Kameron holds a special place for me as artist for several reasons. One, my first organized event in 2001 featured him and it was one of his first "in-club" events as well. Kameron was just starting out then and though obviously talented his music and stage presence was "low key" but he kept at it and every time I've booked him or seen him sense he's been better than the previous. I wanted to come check him because I hadn't seen him perform at all in 2008 or had a chance to pick up the new record Korporate Rockstar. So lets fast-forward I finally get into the warmth of the nightclub and find a sitting place with a good stage view and settle in to see what's cooking. I'm glad to see that for a cold night in Atlanta the crowds decent, lots of cozy couples and Morehouse Alumni (same as the headliner). It comes to my attention that an artist known as Crea has replaced the opening act Sam Dew in the lineup for unspecified reasons.

The stage was dark except for the warm circle of light in which a stool was centered. Before the music starts I need to qualify my feelings (slight bias) towards acoustic shows before I go any further: I love acoustic music but in terms of live acoustic performance if any element is missing they can be dull, anyway, let me set more of the scene. Crea is extremely attractive; she's got that type of warm beauty you can tell radiates from the inside out. She takes the stage to greet us and do a mini sound check with the guitar; you can tell she's holding back an infectious talent while syncing up with the soundman in preparation to take us into her world.

I first experienced Crea when she'd just started performing in this area. At that time she was talented but shy, so tonight I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm happy to say she has grown considerably, not lacking in confidence and delivering well written triumphant tributes to the personal lessons that come naturally with relationships in a rangy vocal style (definitely her own). As far as stage presence Crea is a very engaging performer with a talent for pulling you gently but deep into her experiences and feelings. Her third song described a painful breakup but she conveyed no salty aftertaste or bitterness in relating the tale. Her song "Kiss" really seemed to pull all the men in attendance real close and say to us "Hey your appreciated" and left me, hate to use the term again but it describes it best, "warmer" than when she began. Thanks Crea.

Now on to Kameron Korvet who came in solo out the midtown winds with hood and ball cap in place and guitar strapped to back looking confident. A lot has changed since I first saw him and for me seeing artists grow into their craft and stage persona over the years is one of the pleasures of working in and around music. Kameron is perfect example of this growth having already toured the world in support of his first record (recently re-released through Kameron Corvet.com) and now instead of the student I met in 2001 he is now himself a French teacher. It's going to be interesting seeing Kameron perform acoustic for two reasons: 1> He usually rocks shows with the full band here in the adopted hometown putting you in the mind of a sound-clash between Maxwell and Lenny Kravitz.  2> I will get to hear material from the new album for the first time ever and in acoustic format.  He gets right to it, opening with a cover of Prince Classic "Little Red Corvette" fused with recent hit "Bed" by J. Holiday easily emulating both vocal styles, one of the coolest things about Kameron's vocal performance is the way he'll just break from his norm and hit you with a nice falsetto ala Curtis Mayfield to make sure your feeling the entirety of what it means to him at the drop of a dime.

Now that we're loose he seems eager to give us Sophia Clinton is a thoughtful dedication to the daughter he envisions having some day.  He blends a breakup song back to back with a strong reconciliation song "Kiss and Make Up" from the album creating a nice old time love feeling in the room which is the perfect segue into a medley of excerpts from some of the new-classic love songs from the 80's and 90's. You know the ones, the songs dedicated 30 something R n B fans kind of wish artists today would emulate. It's a nice living room vibe complete with Kameron taking requests and we get some Jodeci, Al B Sure in the mix along with a mention of Bobby Caldwell (who knew?) before going into "Spelman Girl" an upbeat homage to the college days featured on the new album.  Kameron doesn't miss a note and the crowd actually thickens as we go and not a single person is lost as the rest of night plays through in good fashion. I would highly recommend the album Korporate Rockstar by Kameron Corvet available at www.kameroncorvet.com. Tonight served as a reminder to me of just how much talent there is here in Atlanta. On any given night in just about every corner of the city there's quality live music whether your into beautiful guitar crooning female story tellers or soulful (sometimes acoustic) rockers or any of the many other genres Atlanta's after dark boasts. Glad I made it; see you at the next show.

Event Revue: Is a Journalistic "Play by Play" of that show "You Should've Been At" by novelist, music consultant Jeffrey M Johnson.

Event Revue 2  "Strange Fruit IV" Apache Café. Atlanta Georgia Dec 13, 2008

I find myself out on another crisp Atlanta evening headed to Apache Cafe for the forth installment in a concert series called Strange Fruit. Its put on by an Atlanta based artist known as Rahbi. I'm excited for a couple of reasons 1> Rahbi, who I will describe more thoroughly later, is a dynamic performer. 2> I booked the first installment of this series in 2007 during my fulltime stint as booking agent at this venue. It's great to see Rahbi and his vision still growing and moving forward.

Soon as I step in its hard not to notice the air is thick with anticipation due to the fact Rahbi's performance is known to always be on point and he surrounds himself with the best cutting edge performers this town (and others) has to offer. The place is full by the time I get a beverage and find a place to take it all in. Prominent members of the ever-growing Atlanta music scene are already in place. I see Mr. Deejay (see his numerous credits on previous Outkast projects as well as the new Common), Coach K (a top notch management resource for many established and forthcoming Atlanta based artists), Speech, Janelle Monae, and Anthony David to name a few. Added Treat: The lovely Joi, one of Atlanta's best progressive soul talents is hosting the show and injecting her home grown warmth into the place.

There were five different opening acts on stage and these were the standouts.

The first act, a solo rapper named Rome Fortune from here in GA. I enjoyed his music; it wasn't the normal "one track minded" hip-hop brand prominent on major radio. The beats were unique and fun, and lyrics were witty with a touch of comedy.  I consider myself a regular guy and what's not to like about a song called "Regular Guy Takes Your Girl."

Next to the stage was a colorfully clad new wave hip hop-soul ensemble known as Holly Weerd. This one of the acts I really wanted to see, reason being I've seen a few of the individual members round the city doing their thing in a variety of ways. There's a cat I'm more familiar with as a tattoo artist rapping, there's a very talented saxophonist I know from another band doing his sax thing but in totally different context, there's another rapper I recognize from his various solo ventures. In addition a trusted source who saw them previously told me they were "dope" and I wanted to see how all these elements come together for myself.

Result: Their musical backdrop was soulful and crisp; they played beats over the PA and had a live drummer and bass (via keyboard) adding some heat on top. I didn't expect them to take themselves too seriously with a name like Holly Weerd but they were lyrically on point, I could understand just about every word and the 3 man step team in the aisle interpreting the vibes during their portion didn't steal the show away. The first track "All in Your Smile" was produced by industry and underground famous Beat Maker 9^th Wonder. They mentioned the production credit on the song and I remember thinking that this was probably going be the standout track from their performance but that distinction belongs to "Weerdo", as in "Have you ever made love to a Weerdo." This song is an instant classic that has a  "Revenge of the Nerds" mentality but tastes kind of like your favorite Cameo song from back in the day with a healthy pinch of hip-hop for added flavor. They sounded great and had fun while doing it, keep an ear out for these guys.

Next performer to hit the stage was "Scar", an Atlanta native and contributor to the current John Legend record and many other worthwhile projects as a writer and singer. I have to borrow a quote from "Joi" on this one, "… Scar has one of the best tenors in the game." He literally drips that vintage soul feel and tore into a heartfelt rendition of Lauryn Hill's "X-factor" right out the gate that gained an immediate accolade from the sold out crowd. Scar followed this with a mid tempo original called "Sookie Sookie. "  This cut had had a bluesy Stax Records feel to it, I could envision myself playing this one in the car while taking my grand mother to Bingo and she asks, "Play that Sookie Sookie again." Scar sang us farewell after song two, leaving us wanting more, which I'm sure is forthcoming in 09.

Three female performers followed (Shanel, D. Woods and Muffy), each was a talent and did well but since they basically did one song a piece I'm going to leave it at that.  Well actually Muffy did cover "Sex Shooter" from Apollonia 6 of Purple Rain fame before breaking into a catchy original song about P*^&^ envy. If you haven't figured it out by now sister definitely has the "Hot Sex on a platter" vibe locked, I couldn't take my eyes off the stage and my ears weren't mad either.

Now on to the main event, the show stopping performance by the king of Glam Soul, "Rahbi." A little about Rahbi he's an artist in a major way: very capable singer, dancer and actor. He comes from a musical theater background via the highly regarded Y.E.A. program based here in Atlanta.

The reason I mention the theater is so you will understand that Rahbi gives you some much more than a show, its best described as a "production." It's truly 1 part exhibition 1 part music. Lets go thru some of the visual highlights: 1> Rahbi was brought to the stage on a red chair held aloft by a quartet of able bodied men and women wearing reindeer antlers (crowd lost it) 2> I'd never seen an African American Ballerina, much less on the same stage as the very athletic exotic dancer whose technique was just as artistic 3> Rahbi is a visual highlight: 3 small costume changes (done on stage with a hotty holding the mirror), very emotive facial expressions, good (but not over choreographed) dance elements.

The musical highlights: I liked Rahbi's approach to cover tunes, he covered or should I say reinterpreted several songs through his unique artistic filter. For instance, he came out via reindeer with an R rated version of the Christmas theme "These are my favorite things." His version of Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams", "Bitter Sweet Dreams" was delivered as a compelling statement against the current trend of "bad" music being somehow spun as "good" by the industry. The reinterpretation of "When Doves Cry" was killer, and in performing two originals fused the endings with other songs I never mind hearing. M.J.'s  "Thriller" (with excerpts of the dance number the song is famous for) and an unexpected refrain that channeled X-Scape's (Who Do I Run To)

This was all great but the musical highlight for me was the cover of the Donnie Hathaway classic " Giving Up" from the Sparkle movie soundtrack. This is a song about someone feeling hopeless and contemplating self destruction and Rahbi steps right into character in delivering it. His reverence for the good music of new and old is something missing from a lot of artists in the up and coming generation and its admirable. Note: Please do not even begin to think because of the mention of covers that Rahbi is a cover artist. His original material and stage presence is definitely the "Salt" of the show, the covers is the pepper. What artist do you know can perform the first song he ever wrote amidst all these classics and still hold weight? Overall the best word for Rahbi and for his show is "Fierce", definitely one of the best productions from an independent artist I've seen here in Atlanta (and that's saying something). So yes, Strange Fruit is definitely worth picking, don't miss the next one. Finally allow me to pass on one request directly from Rahbi to you, the music consumer: "Stop buying that bull ishhh."

Event Revue: Is a Journalistic "Play by Play" of that show "You Should've Been At" by novelist, music consultant Jeffrey M Johnson.