Last night Paul and I stayed out past our usual turn-into-a-pumpkin-bedtime to see Brother Ali play at the
Middle East. As is the way with
Rhymesayers concerts there were 3-4 hours of performances ahead of Brother Ali. We stuck it out to the end despite our frequent bouts of old folk yawning. The energy in the room definitely reflected the 18+ show that it was. There were lots of hands in the air waving around like they just don't care.
I am totally in love with his new album. It is a solid album with music that makes me want to dance and lyrics that say something. This album is guilty of making me dance to my ipod while folding laundry at the laundromat. It's that good.
Last night was the second time I have seen Brother Ali perform. The first time I saw him he was one of the first performers in a long Rhymesayers line-up at
First Avenue. I think I was working there at the time, so it had to have been around 2000 or 2001. He has come a long way since then. When I saw him years ago he was just borrowing the stage for a while, but last night he owned it.
Cool post! I can't believe that Paul has turned into a tired yawny face, too. I know you've always been an early-to-bedder, but come now. You guys ain't that old. You haven't even reached the golden decade of 30 yet. So glad you went to see him. He's awesome, huh? Taking a much-needed packing break to catch up on some blog-readin'. Thanks for writing. Jer.
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