Sade

Sade equals pure perfection Three times. That’s the approximate number of times I've seen Sade in concert.
And I remember each one. The first instance, I was a concert newbie. It was 1990 something and I was still in high school. I vaguely recall the opening acts (Digable Planets and, according to my sister who attended with me, Boyz II Men). The main thing I recollect about that show? It was the best concert ever!
Up until that point, I think the only other concert I had attended was New Edition (that was 1989 and I only know this because I still have the program). Between Sade and New Edition, I don’t know who I loved more. As a child of the 80s, Sade was one artist on constant play in my cassette player. As I reminisce, I wonder what I knew about love being a crime in the fifth grade, but back then you could catch me belting out Is It A Crime like the boy in my social studies class had mistreated my poor10-year-old heart.
But back to the second time I attended a Sade show. It was Sept.18, 2001 – The Lover’s Rock Tour (at this stage of my life, I kept concert stubs. Maybe I knew one day I would need to refer to it because blogging would be an important aspect of my life). Seven days prior, hijackers changed America forever, so the mood was somber.
India.Arie, who was a relatively newcomer, opened the show. I was already in love with her, so to see both women on the same stage had me in heaven. There was only one problem – I was on the lawn at the Chronicle Pavilion. Afterwards, I realized that I will never, EVER again sit on the lawn. Sade looked like an ant and jumbo screens weren’t that effective in translating what was really happening on stage. You know what I remember most about this show? It was, again, the BEST concert I had ever been to! Sade's stage presence was mesmerizing; the show just left you speechless. There isn’t an artist out then (or now) that can put on a concert like Sade. Absolutely, positively NO ONE! (Well, maybe Michael Jackson, but I’ll never know because, well, I didn’t get a chance to see him in action before he, well, you know.) Ten years later, I still stand by that statement. Sade doesn’t need back up dancers; she doesn’t have to fly through the air or dance from one end of the stage to the other in four-inch stilettos.
She is pure entertainment just standing on stage, holding a microphone and singing from her gut. Sade has a stage presence that simply captivates you. Her moves are simple, yet fluid.
But they are enough. Ten years is a long time for an artist to be away. Would Sade still have it? Could she still put on a performance that I had previously proclaimed to be the best shows I had ever witnessed? Aug. 27, 2011 was I received the answer to those questions. As I sit here listening to the playlist I created in iTunes of Sade’s setlist from her Solider of Love Tour, I feel chills running through my body once again – all these months later.
From the first beat of Solider of Love to the encore, Sade kept the crowd mesmerized and on our feet. The best way to describe her vocals is to say they are pure perfection. She sounds exactly like the CD – and I do mean exactly – only 100times better. The same can be said for the rest of the band. While Sade is the front woman, the band deserves as much credit as she does for creating such timeless music. Besides the music, what makes this show so incredible are the stage transformations. I can’t even begin to depict what takes place in the background, so I won’t even make an attempt. I will say, Sade becomes one with the stage at a certain point and you’re left wondering how it’s even possible. The setlist (see below) was a great mix from all albums. Lover’s Rock was the only song missing that I really wanted to hear. She blew the roof off the house with Is It A Crime (which just happens to be my all-time favorite Sade song. Remember the fifth grade?). When she hit that last note – whew is all I can say! You know a concert is beyond anything you’ve ever experienced when you are conversing with a fellow concertgoer and neither one of you can put into words exactly what you saw, but you know you experienced something that was truly amazing and will never be forgotten. So, it’s official. I still have yet to experience anything like a Sade concert (and I say this having seen A LOT of artists). She still has it and I just hope it’s not another 10 years before I get to have these warm, glowing feelings again. One last thing, Sade looked absolutely stunning! At age 52, she blows a lot of these young girls out the water! Favorite moment: Sade’s introductions of the band were cute and very personal.