As a 15-year soul veteran, Jill Scott has a broad enough musical catalog to present plenty of options as far of the type of show she is able to deliver. Fans never know what they are going to get (other than a great show) until she graces the stage, but her live performance track record is such that they are always along for the ride.
Saturday night, she chose to gift the sold out crowd at the Fox with a grown woman groove. She kept reminding the audience was “real live music.” She proved it by offering rearrangements of her hits that made for refreshed interpretation – but not to point they were too unrecognizable to truly enjoy. Over the course of the evening, Scott also inserted inspirational messaging, encouragement of self-love and a politically charged call for activism.
Poet Staceyanne Chin opened the show. Though Scott is a spoken word artist herself and often inserts the pieces featured in her albums into her live shows, the audience didn’t seem particularly interested in anything other than music to kick off their night – at least at first.
After she stepped forward and introduced herself, she asked them to give them more energy and they begrudgingly complied.
“I didn’t come here to hear no damn poetry,” one audience member heckled.
But by the end of her set, Chin had the audience’s undivided attention – even a co-sign of the formerly disgruntled heckler. A poem that she wrote eviscerating Donald Trump turned reluctant listeners into her amen chorus – as did her “updated remix” of Gil Scott Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised.”
No one knew it at the time, but Chin’s performance was a hint of what was to come from Scott later on in her set.
After an intermission, Scott and her deluxe band – equipped with a percussionist and horns – kicked into the type of sound typical of the legendary classic soul and funk bands of days gone by.
Her opening numbers felt more like a medley thanks to the streamlined groove that was too funky for interruption. She started the show with “Be Ready,” before jumping right into “Golden” and “Whatever.”
Scott slowed it down for “Long Walk,” “Prepared” and her latest hit “Can’t Wait.” Then she gave the crowd a grown folks only portion spearheaded by the sexually charged “Crown Royal on Ice” that carried on into “The Way.”
She picked up the pace with her go-go inspired “It’s Love,” which she transitioned into the EU classic “Da Butt.” Scott kept the pace while jumping back into her original music with “Sock It to Me.”
Just before she slowed things back down, Scott got political. She talked about how people of color have been forsaken and victimized in America since the nation’s origin.
“Listen, everybody who came here [America] was trying to escape something,” Scott said. “If you remember that is our history and work together…we have to join together as a people. This is a trip. People try to separate and pull us apart, but I know who I am.”
Scott encouraged everyone to unite and take a stand against injustice and protect the human rights of everyone by any means necessary.
She told them to use their voices to inspire change – which she revealed was what inspired her to write the song “My Petition.”
Scott performed the song against the video backdrop of the countless individuals who have died at the hands of law enforcement – including Michael Brown, Philando Castile, Sean Bell, Sandra Bland, John Crawford and seven-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones.
Her call for activism continued with a cover of The Brand New Heavies “Brother Sister.”
Scott also encouraged the audience to actively practice self-love and actively pursue their dreams repeatedly over the course of the evening.
“You have to say ‘each day I promise to love myself a little bit more than the day before’,” Scott said to the crowd.
Her motivational moment allowed her to transition back into her regularly scheduled musical programming with “Hate on Me” before her “He Loves Me” finale – which as usual showcased her impressive gift as a vocalist with a Spanish excerpt that pays homage to classical music.
