Oh, man. So did anyone else catch "In Performance at the White House" last week? Stevie Wonder received the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize from President Obama, and there was a tribute concert on Wednesday that aired on Thursday night. Aside from the fact that I was going to watch it simply for the Stevie factor, it reinforced my belief that this is the coolest White House -- ever! (I give you as further evidence the Earth Wind and Fire performance at the Governors' Dinner on February 22nd. Earth Wind and Fire! Stevie Wonder! At the White House! The white supremacists who make up the base of the Republican party must be shitting themselves. And somewhere up in Heaven, Bernie Mac is smiling.)
In case you didn't catch it, the entire concert is available on the PBS website. The highlight of the concert was, for me, a beautiful girl named Esperanza Spalding, playing upright bass and singing "Overjoyed." She turns it into a Brazilliant thing, bouncy and latin and, well, joyful. I love everything about her, from her giant Angela Davis afro to the big gap in her teeth that you can see when she smiles (which she does a lot). She's genius. Here's her performance, snatched from Youtube:
The other highlight was my girl India.Arie singing "Summer Soft." Clearly overwhelmed, whether by proximity to Barack Obama or Stevie Wonder (maybe both, I know either would knock me off my feet), Miz India at one point wipes a tear from the corner of her eye before collecting herself and offering a faithful, straight-on cover of the song, which is sort of a B-side cut from "Songs in the Key of Life" (that is, if anything off that record can be considered "B-side."). I feel a little better that she's the one who got the invitation to perform for Stevie at the White House, since I have to admit I never got over my resentment that she was robbed -- robbed! -- at the 2002 Grammy's by the less-talented, more-videogenic (I would argue that one with anyone), completely overrated Alicia Keys ("No One" is so freakin' annoying that I actually get angry when it comes on the radio.) Here's Miz India:
I hope they re-air it so you can see it too!
1 comment:
I recorded this performance and just got around to watching it last night. I am a fan of Miss Spalding and was pleasantly surprised to see her in the White House Performance. She did Stevie proud on that Overjoyed for certain.
I am also a huge EWF fan, met them many times,listen to them daily, so I certainly agree with you ....this is by far the coolest "White House--ever!"
Glad to find your blog
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