Janet Jackson is on my mind of late, having tuned in to her interview on November 18 with Robin Roberts and also having recently purchased her retrospective album, Number Ones. Talk about taking a trip down memory lane!  I’ve been doing a “happy dance,” literally, since I bought it. Jamming to haven’t-heard-in-decades tracks like “Diamonds” and “Rhythm Nation” (her best album bar none), and singing at the top of my lungs to “Love Will Never Do Without You.”See, I came of age when Janet Jackson came out with her third album, Control, which placed her on the world map of pop music and which was the first of her collaboration with the Minneapolis team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. I was in junior high in the Bronx, a young black girl learning to write poetry and other creative stuff.  I was dealing with my changing body, and here comes Janet Jackson taking “control” over her own body and her own mind.

“When I was 17, I did what people told me/ did what my father said and let my mother mold me/ But now I’m all grown up.”

From learning how to mouth off to the “Nasty” boys on the streets and in school to getting affirmation that I could say to that special guy, “Let’s wait awhile.” But perhaps the more salient message came from when I actually tried to reenact her choreography from her “The Pleasure Principle” music video and twisted my ankle trying to do that move with the chair thing.

Lesson learned: “Do not try this at home.”

Yep, those were the days. I had gone from my crush on her big brother, Michael, to finding the perfect role model, and I seemed to grow up right along with her.  By the time of her Superbowl scandal, when I was tripping over certain faux pas on the job, and feeling my alienation at times as a professional black woman, Justin Timberlake’s disrobing of her felt like a metaphorical disrobing of sorts. I was too angry at the world, and I was hurt by the persecution of my childhood hero.  But like Janet, I too survived and strived.

So, I bring up Janet Jackson here because one of my regulars on Soul David (might have been Desertrat or BrooklynDawn) expressed desire to see David follow in the trajectory of Janet instead of Michael Jackson. In particular, looking forward to David producing a Control-like album.

“When I was 17, I did what people told me…”

Whatever aspects of David that we think already exerts this control, there is still a persistent image  out there that he’s not (in control, that is).  And at some point, I imagine David will, like Janet, like Michael, find that magical pairing with the right producer or producing team, who will take those particular “David sounds” and take them to the next level.  Beyond the sound is the image of “maturing,” and wondering how best he will project that maturity.  Yes, declaring control and independence will definitely come with the package.  And while female empowerment looks very different from a man declaring his power, I look forward to how David will make this same statement.

Obviously, from what he has revealed about pop album #2, David is already moving in that direction.  But I’ll still be waiting for the magic to occur when the stars align him with the perfect production pairing.

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December 28, 2009 – our own idol, icon and friend is celebrating his 19th birthday today.

Congratulations, David! You deserve all your success and we, your fans are always here to stand by you!

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First, I must apologize that this report was written a bit hastily. Still, I wanted to make sure you heard about my San Francisco experience sooner rather than later. (Also – I have not yet read Liz’s review, just so I could give you yet another fresh impression.)

I had seen none of the Christmas Tour videos, and though I had been at a Meet & Greet during the AI Tour, this was my first VIP experience. I was particularly excited to meet David, and, knowing I would only have a few seconds, couldn’t wait until I asked him whether he had read a certain couple of poems that, you know, a rhyme a lot…

One thing about David is that, when he gets the chance to be comfortable, he resorts to being quite unflappably himself. He stepped out onto the stage to the sound of screams, stepped up to the microphone, and simply said hi. Completely unplanned, unrehearsed, he looked around and waited for random comments from the audience and asked some questions himself. I can see why “Works for Me” could be a theme song for him – he is never that much concerned about trying to “act like a star,” or like anybody else for that matter. He said he was soooo excited to be in San Francisco – one could feel oodles of Archulove toward my (lovely) hometown.

He sang “Touch My Hand,” and then followed up with a beautiful rendition of “White Christmas.” This song already has a beautiful, jazz-tinged melody, and, though he couldn’t remember (most!) of the words, he added different colors to his voice and made some improvisations that were so brilliant that he had us cheering. What a privilege to hear!

Then it was on to the picture taking! I had actually made myself the very first person in line because I had this crazy circumstance in which I had to run to a meeting in the East Bay and return in the middle of the concert. (Don’t ask! )

Well, I wasn’t exactly nervous walking up to him. My stress and sense of distraction actually had me focused on my singular concrete goal. I was going to ask him one question and see if he recognized Ronaldsf, that fan who has this weird rhyming obsession with David.

So as I’m walking up to David, he’s basically just looking around, smiling, singing very softly “Noel, Noel…”! So awesome that I caught him in a random singing moment! The he-always-sings legend is true! I then popped the question:

Me: “Have you ever heard of these two very long poems about you, that rhymed?”

David: “What?”

Security Guy: “Hurry! There’s a hundred people behind you!”

Camera Girl: “Come together!”

David smiles and sings “Come together!” (from the Beatles song), we turn to the camera.

And *Click*!

“Next!”

So yeah, I’m sorry to report: no Archugaze, no profound moment. More like confusion and a bright light. And he clearly hadn’t read the poems yet. Still, I learned from this bitter lesson that I’ll bring him the darn poems next time so he can see them for himself afterward. And it was also an unforgettable pleasure to have a moment with happy, spacey David.

Assault and battery

After running back from my meeting across the Bay, I walked into the theater while David was singing “Zero Gravity.” Having gotten my VIP ticket through Mikesd, I had to find him and Vermeer so I could sit next to them in the second row.

Well, once I eyed Mike I started to climb towards him. Yes – climbed. I was walking over the chairs because everybody was standing up bopping to David singing “Crush.” I realized I missed Mikesd and Vermeer by one row and had to climb over the chair in front of them to reach them.

In the meantime, this tall man sees me, and I apparently must be standing on his chair. How did I know? While I was gingerly trying to step over the chair to reach Vermeer, he was grabbing me with both hands and pushing me as hard as he could, trying to get me to trip and fall to the ground!

I thought I had met the worst David fans in Rockford, but no! He’s in San Francisco!

Battery (n): an intentional unpermitted act causing harmful or offensive contact with the “person” of another

Grimacing from the offensiveness of this lowly fan, I composed myself to enjoy the show. After all, “WWDD?” I told myself.

And then I beheld “Fields of Gold.” Something I noticed, now that I was up close, was how, while preparing for a slow song and the lights are down, he is closing his eyes, meditating, going to that “special place.” This is his process of transformation when he changes from Everyday David to being at one with the music. David has this way of being on his own wavelength, and it’s not just in music when he does this.

Well, I LOVED “Fields of Gold.” He was faithful to Eva’s interpretation (singing in almost the same high key!), and drew out those notes with all the intimacy and nuances he could bring with his voice. He has this ability to make his voice fragile and tender while at the same time full of power, and you feel it viscerally.

I gasped when David walked out for the second set in his suit, which I now see has been a staple at his Christmas shows. I assume you all have already had your spaz attacks? If I were him, I would wear a suit every day if he looks that good. Doing the laundry, jogging, you name it.

It was wonderful to have Lupe come onstage during “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” She is so proud of her son, and he is so proud of her – their love is palpable, and Lupe has a lovely voice. I loved her teasing way of making him dance with her, and she even asked someone in the audience if they wanted to join him.

It was clear that David was holding back on some of the most challenging notes, given that he was now performing a fourth night in a row. Still, he was able to bring the emotional connection and immediacy to his live performance that made this something quite different from the album. I enjoyed how, at the beginning of “Ave Maria”’s beginning strains, many in the audience sat down as if in church to hear a hymn.

But not everybody was reverent. During “The First Noel,” for example, while David’s eyes were closed and he was clearly getting into singing about the birth of Christ, people were reaching out with their hands whenever he drew close to them. Um, helloo? He’s trying to picture to himself shepherds and fields, and here are several greedy hands reaching out to him from the black? I don’t think so.

Another (minor) complaint I had was something that probably can’t be solved – the audience cheering and loving his performances. No, no, no – I’m not saying that people should shut up. But so many of his songs were meant to end quietly and leave you with a lasting feeling of peace, but as soon as he started to enter the ending quiet passages, everyone erupted into cheers. I really wanted him to take me to that place, and then cheer afterwards.

Another stand out was “Riu Riu Chiu,” in which David slinked around the stage. I kept wondering what it was he reminded of, and then I realized he made me think of some graceful animal, like a tiger prowling across the savannah. Now, a certain American Idol judge thought David didn’t have tiger in him, but Simon clearly hadn’t seen David sing a Christmas song.

For me, my favorite of the concert was “Silent Night.” I sometimes find it difficult to get into a song at the moment – people may remember me not fully getting into the music until near the end of a recent concert – but with this I felt he brought me there even more than in his other performances. (It doesn’t hurt that it’s one of my very favorite tracks on the album, either.) I loved how he built up from the quiet, tender beginning to the heartfelt, pleading ending. That was the high point of the evening for me, and if I were to guess, for him to.

So that was the concert! And then I assume David spent the next day with family touring my (lovely) hometown of San Francisco. Perhaps here is a good place to post this mega-cute picture I found of David from when he previously visited Fisherman’s Wharf:

Loving San Francisco – Wish You Were Here!

Well, there’s my “quick” report! And I wanted to add finally that it was a real pleasure meeting everyone! I hadn’t seen anyone since last year’s Jingle Thingie in Sacramento, so it had been more than a year. Plus I met a lot of new people as well! I can’t wait to see you all again next time David comes around!

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Has anyone else downloaded David?s new Christmas “app??” Well, let me tell you, it?s a lot of fun! The basic premise is that there are ?ve Christmas songs. Your goal is to sing along and try to be in tune, on pitch and in sync with the Voice. Once you choose your song and your level of difficulty, you hit “sing” and off you go. The lyrics scroll by along with the pitch lines, kind of like a ticker tape and a morse code line combined. It really lets you see how long David sustains some of his notes! An arrow follows your voice and shows you how your pitch follows his. Additionally, your score is shown racking up points as you sing. No singing…no points!

After the song is over, you can compare your score to national scores and even compare to your region. The phone uses your location to compare your score to others around you. I have only done one song and my score is weak compared to the nationals but much higher than the locals. Hmmm…gotta work on that. If you choose a higher level of dif?culty little things happen, like David?s voice suddenly disappearing so that you are on your own! Shake your iPhone and snow?akes appear! (In the phone, not outside…haha!)

The best part… the video instruction by Mr. Archuleta himself!! I could watch videos of him instructing on vocal technique for days….!! He gives a brief “how to” for the game and then goes into a few vocal tips. Just that little snippet of him and his technique makes you crave more of him talking about singing! For anyone in to singing, this is a very fun and ingenious concept. I hope he comes out with more versions targeting hisother works… both holiday and non holiday. Now if only David would start doing personal vocal coaching in his spare time… He doesn?t need to sleep does he??

Go on line and buy the David app! You?ll love it!

~mikesd

My recent trek to Chicago through the winter weather on Friday to attend David’s Waukegan concert was unusual for me. At most of my recent concerts, I went as an active blogger. I spent a lot of time at past concerts gathering information about David’s career and updating myself on happenings across the fan sites.

This time, however, I purposely attended the concert as a much more low-key fan. I passed on the VIP opportunity to briefly meet David again and instead went with several fellow fans to quietly enjoy an evening of music.

Downtown Waukegan, where the concert took place, is part of a collection of northern Chicago lakeshore communities that built up along the suburban rail line in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Similar to other venues along the Christmas tour, the concert was held in a 1920s’ era movie palace that had been renovated in recent years. The cab driver told me on the way to the venue that the Genesee Theater’s renovation was part of a revitalization of the downtown area over the past few years.

I spent much of the evening reflecting and observing as I glanced around the floor and balconies. From the vantage point of my decent floor-level seat, I had the great opportunity to observe the sheer diversity of fans before the concert started. David’s strikingly diverse fanbase is both perplexing and delightful to me. I observed elderly and middle-aged couples, tweens and teenagers, women with their younger daughters, gay couples, and solo male attendees.

I wish that David’s label and PR people could figure out how to market him well. However, perhaps their difficulty in finding a focused campaign stems from the fanbase’s rather unusual diversity. I am struck by how even though the different demographic sectors of David’s fanbase don’t always see eye to eye on political, social, and religious issues (particularly related to David), there is a lot we can learn from each other.

Could part of David’s mission (perhaps even unbeknownst to him) be to bring this diversity of people together? If we are literally in the same room with a similar focus, we have a basis to start communicating with each other. If David’s music can initially bring us together, that is the first step toward putting a human face on issues that too often divide people.

Other fans across the fan sites have already described the Waukegan concert, so I will not elaborate in great detail. However, it was delightful to hear David sing live again. His studio albums simply do not capture the energy and improvisation of his live performances. I hope that eventually he finds a producer who knows how to extract the vibe of his live performances within a studio context.

Several songs were stand-outs for me. His energetic rendition of “Feliz Navidad” was delightful. “Prayer for the Children” was incredibly soulful on a darkened stage with Kendra accompanying him on the electronic baby grand. The professional lighting and stage set added a dramatic background for a concert that connected with a diverse and energetic crowd.

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