Thursday, November 5, 2009

Who doesn't love Lenny?

I was a little fearful that I would be the oldest person (and the only old one) at the Lenny Kravitz concert yesterday when I got comment on Facebook from a former student who must be all of twenty years old, "you like lenny kravitz? lol." However, my fears were laid aside when I saw the audience at The Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta. There were many fans there as old and much older than me! It was a really interesting crowd for a rock icon like Lenny: no teenagers, but everything from twenties to eighties, I swear. It was also a very mixed audience, with the majority being white, which was surprising because Lenny is black. However, when I stopped to think about the number of other black rockers I knew, I couldn't think of any (although there must be some). All the black musicians seem to be into other genres, primarily rap, R&B, and jazz. Even Lenny's backup band was mixed racially.

I don't go to concerts anymore, so this was a step outside my comfort zone. The last I attended was Simply Red in Sicily. Before that, I can't even remember, but it had to be pre-Germany days, which began in 1987.

Lenny and band performed for a solid TWO HOURS, with a wide variety of songs, including my personal favorite, "American Woman," as well as "Mama Said," "Fly Away." "Are You Gonna Go My Way," "Let Love Rule," "Believe," "Mister Cab Driver," and much more. He has been performing for twenty years, so this tour, called Let Love Rule, is named after that album of twenty years ago. He personally played several instruments during the concert, including three different guitars, keyboards, tambourine, and drums. He highlighted all of his band at various times, especially the horn section. The guy next to me, who was a musician himself, told me that Lenny Kravitz performed every instrument on every album he's made up until the last one, when he finally let someone else play the lead guitar. His lead guitarist used to play with the Black Crows of Atlanta fame. It was a very lively, loud, light-crazy show and Lenny was all over the place with his presence and his music. It was incredibly entertaining. At one point, he even left the stage and walked all across the floor in front of it making direct contact with his fans. His message throughout the night was one of peace, love, brotherhood, and "we're in this together, so make it work." Refreshing and recharging all around! The audience LOVED him.

3 comments:

  1. Great blog entry! Jimi Hendrix is the only other black rocker who comes to mind, and I like Kravitz as much as I did Hendrix. Hendrix just left this earth too soon. (Sandra)

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  2. Wao, I would love to be there. I like him very much. I think is one of the most talented musicians. As you mention he plays so many instruments. He knows his music. I will love it if he comes to England and I can go and see the concert. Also your comments Maryellen are very beautiful and touching. Thank you for sharing this wonderful moment with me. (Adrian)

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  3. A friend of a friend went to Hebrew school w/Lenny in L.A. (Lenny's dad's Jewish; his mom's African-American). They sang in the choir together there. How's that for a musical journey?

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