Jill Scott

If you ever attend a Jill Scott show expecting to hear her sing songs exactly as they are on her albums, you will always be disappointed. Every. Single. Time. And that is one of the main reasons I continue to pay to see Jilly from Philly – I’m guaranteed a new and highly entertaining show no matter the city or venue. Her performance at Mountain View Winery in Saratoga, CA last week just so happened to fall on the one day I consider more important than the other 364 days of the year. My birthday. On June 24, 2014 Jill Scott showed up, showed out and gave a performance that I consider her best concert I’ve ever witnessed. And that’s saying much because I’ve been to more than 10 Jill Scott concerts. My experience with seeing and hearing Jill live began on July 27, 2001 at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA. From there I’ve seen her many times in Oakland, San Francisco and Concord, CA. I’ve traveled cross country (twice) to New Jersey, but last Tuesday, I felt something special in the air. Besides being the day I was born, the energy flowing from the stage was hypnotizing and spiritual. Maybe turning a year older opened up some senses I never had or long forgot about. All I know is that, simply put, this show was strictly for grown ass folks. That was very clear during the highly-energetic opening of Gimme. “Let me sock it to you like a grown woman can,” said Jill, who placing much emphasis on “grown,” looked absolutely FABULOUS in what appeared to be a black skirt, decorative black and white three-quarter’s sleeved shirt and VERY high-heeled black peep-toed shoes. Moving back and forth across the stage, she owned every inch of the space. “Ladies and gentlemen, live music in the house tonight! Is that alright?” she exclaimed before launching into The Way. Obviously a major fan favorite, she sang us through the first verse and ended the song with words of wisdom for the ladies, “It’s alright to be nice and say thank you for being good to me.” From the saxophonist (who just happened to be Mike Phillips, a former label mate of Jill’s, who has released three albums of his own), to the drummer to the guitarist, trumpeter and on, it is apparent that Jill has assembled a team of outstanding, high-quality musicians who are great at showcasing the pure elements of a live show. The backup singers (aptly called “The Pipes”) had a New Edition-esque vibe with their choreographed dance routines – at one point, during It’s Love two of the singers broke into the Kid N’ Play. At another point of the show, she remarked, “Live music makes you live on forever!” The way she revamped and reworked Crown Royal made her comment all the more poignant. Jill, the actress, went into full effect while reenacting Crown Royal’s lyrics. Talking to her, ahem, lower region, “Put it on ice. Didn’t I tell you to behave yourself? Stop talking to me!” During the second verse of Hate On Me, the lyrics changed to, “Somebody mad at your blessings. Pissed off cause somebody loves you. Somebody mad at the way you’re dressing. Pissed off cause you got a little more money for ya. Somebody mad . . . I love you anyway baby! “I’m putting on my invisible shield; walking into the belly of the beast. Smiling as I go. Telling everybody ‘Yo, what’s up? You feel good? I hope you do!’ Can’t nobody stop you. Every single blessing that’s yours – it’s yours, it’s yours, it’s yours, it’s yours! Can’t nobody do a thing about it.” In addition to old material, Jill blessed the audience with not one, but three new joints. The first was about being free to get herself together for what’s coming; the second focused on being shattered, but a man coming along and putting her back together; and the third had a straight up, back in the American Bandstand day’s type of feel. Part of the lyrics: “Bobby don’t love nobody but me!” This show helped me realize why I love and have seen Jill live so many times – she intently sings the meaning behind each and every word. When she says, “I’m more than a toy for your satisfaction,” or “Tired of being strong all day,” you BELIEVE her. It’s obvious when she’s on stage that Jill intends to give the audience everything she has – and then some.

Jill Scott is without a doubt one of the most fun, infectious personalities you will see perform live. She oozes charisma and friendliness as she steps onto stage with her supporting band and they clearly hold each other very dearly having played on the circuit for many years. She addresses the crowd with an equal fondness, having a brief catch up of sorts with them before beginning the sets and everybody is now in high spirits.

Her soulful voice is incredibly well trained and she uses the first couple of numbers to simply demonstrate the abilities and range that she attains. The crowd cheers her on forcefully and she laughs a grateful laugh before thanking them for being so vocal this evening. The level of proficiency remains high tonight as Jill effortlessly shows the jazz and neo-soul influences that inspire different types of her music. The musicians are also well trained and the whole operation comes together effortlessly, she receives a deserved rapturous round of applause whilst taking final bows and leaves with that synonymous grin on her face.

Jill Scott is an American singer that sings in a wide array of genres, encompassing soul, jazz and R&B. A Jill Scott concert is a great experience, one that I would recommend to any fan. She is a force to be reckoned with on stage: she has an incredible confidence and ease about her that just blew me away. She was incredibly playful with the crowd, making jokes and asking us whether we were ready to hear a grown woman sing. The crowd replied with a resolute YES. Jill Scott looked like a real diva on stage, dressed fabulously in an all-white ensemble. Her backing singers and musicians were all of an excellent standard but Scott was clearly the stand out, particularly in her white pant suit. She sang a whole array of hits that spanned the decades of her career, from some of her earliest hits to her latest work. ‘Golden’ was, of course, the golden highlight of the show and was met with a wild crowd reaction. ‘A Long Walk’ and ‘He Loves Me’ were also stand out performances.

I was so excited to see Jill Scott after being a fan for years. I even traveled over 300 miles to see her in Chicago this summer and was highly disappointed. This was my first concert and maybe this is the way artist are, but when folks pay hundreds of dollars just for tickets, not including travel accommodations, I want to hear her sing an entire song and not point the microphone at the crowd, for her as the headliner not to take 45 minutes to come to the stage and finally for her to have the decency to thank the crowd for coming out in a more meaningful way than thank you and good night. The other acts that I was interested in but not really there to see had way more gravitas and appreciation not only for their craft but for the folks who made it possible for them to be there. I personally will not spend another dime on Jill Scott. Sadly, disappointed, I just can't do it.

The opening act was great, but I could not keep my eye off the keyboardist. I kept thinking of Wendy in Prince & The Revolution. I thought she was amazing and want to know more about her as a musician. Why am I not giving the name of her band? Because I have no clue. No one did... Search on-line and there is no information I could find in 30 seconds. (If I can't find it in 30 sec or less, the information isn't worth it.)

After the opening act, or was it before??? There was a poet who did an amazing job with spoken work. Talk about foreplay, I was all hot and ready to go before Miss Jill Scott came to the stage. Her poetry was very uplifting, powerful, affirming, female-centered and strong. (She didn't leave us men out, but we know what's up and when to step back and listen. And we did!!!)

Then Miss Scott came one. Go see her. There is my review.

This is the first time ever seeing Jill and I must say I was blown away by how much energy she puts into her performances. Her unmistakable voice and ability to story tell, rhyme and speak directly to listeners really shine through.

A huge disappointment with this show was the sound quality in the venue. I usually don't know what or whom to blame with these things, but it appears a lot more work needs to be done by the sound engineers as many people around we're loudly voicing displeasure. In fact, Jill was stopped at some point through her set to check if people could actually hear her.

Regardless of the sound issues, it was a brilliant gig with very interesting interpretations of her most popular songs across various albums. A very impressive opening by Tish Hyman who made her London debut made it a very solid, soulful night out.

I've seen Jill Scott a few times before (mostly in arenas). It makes complete sense that she truly shines when she is in more intimate settings that allow for her to get up close with her audience and connect. Her brilliant stage presence is to be commended. She needs no sparkle, no fancy backdrops, light show, or props. Her voice is THE instrument that we cannot take our eyes off of. As if it were something visible - her vocal acrobatics awed the crowd last night at the Peabody.
From start to finish, nearly a 2 hour set, she took audience members on a journey, tweaked her plan and customized her performance.
Her backup singers were top notch. The pipes were truly that.
Top favorites from last night include:
Le Boum Vent Suite
He Loves Me
A Long Walk
Do You Remember
It's Love
You Don't Know
Fool's Gold
Crown Royal

Jill Scott sounded AHMAZING! Overall the show was amazing and the energy was awesome despite the show starting late. Opening act poet hit the stage late and had to much time.

Jill Scott hit the stage at 9:10pm and was off the stage by 10:20pm. We thought it was just wardrobe change time. Then the lights came up. We thought okay intermission. Then they rolled her backdrop up and started breaking down the stage.

We didn’t get the journey through her catalog we just got the start of the Jilly from Philly journey. She sounds amazing however for the price paid for her tickets I was hoping to see her on stage a lot longer. It was not worth the money spent on her ticket to see her for one hour ten minutes. With her catalog was expecting at least two hours of her on stage.

Jill was on Fire, her concert was amazing. My wife and i saw her in St Augustine 3 years ago and i didnt think she was going to be able to blow us away again but she did. The first time i saw her live i was mesmerized, but i had to chalk some of that up to it being the first time seeing her live. Come on, It's Jill Scott. Well after seeing her last night its not just shock and aw, its talent, she gives a great live show. Obviously the audience was full of fans that were more than willing to let her know that we appreciated what she was giving and she resiprocated by giving us more. If you are a fan you have to catch this show. If you not a fan after seeing the show you will be one. Shes never been better.

I was seriously disappointed with the show. Jill did not bring the person, the lady from Philly to the stage.
It could have been an album just playing. Little or no personal interaction with the crowd.
In the light of recent events with black people struggling it would have been nice for our lady from Philly who has overcome so much to reach out and inspire or empower the crowd to keep holding on to our dreams.
Why else are you an artist if not to provide a positive impact and message.

First time seeing Jill ...Will not be going to her concert ever again.

It makes me think would she have performed like that back home?

We too have helped in her journey to success.