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Live Review
by Igor Mrzny
18-12-2001
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| Wyclef biggin' it |
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Live: Wyclef Jean
Forum, London
Monday, December 17, 2001
Wyclef Jean brings Brazilian carnival atmosphere, via Brooklyn, to Kentish Town
The thing everybody should know about Wyclef Jean is that he is a (former?) member of the Fugees and a large star. He doesn’t let us forget the first, he behaves the second. The man brings Rio in February atmosphere to wherever he plays and, tonight is no exception.
There is never a dull moment when Wyclef is hitting the stage because the book of music opens its pages. As a writer and recording artists Jean is not on a strong ideological ground but he is a compelling performer. He can be subtle and sublime but also crude and ridiculous. The hip-hop guru has always had guts to experiment and it is not surprising to come out of his gig and feel like you’ve just heard an abridged version of music history.
Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman No Cry’ is a regular and you get ‘New York New York’ (yo, Sinatra) and then House Of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’. There’s a definite touch of the Fugees about it all and his material almost gets lost amidst this encyclopaedic evening stretching to 1955 Rock’n’Roll, Caribbean flavoured tunes and singing ‘Guantanamera’, making audience feel as if they’re some place nice’n’hot and not only this energy oasis in the freezing London!
When W straps the guitar on for ‘Gone Til’ November’, the fans are eating off his plectrum! ‘It Doesn’t Matter’ and ‘911’ just about make everyone feel like they’ve collectively been subjected to “The only thing allowed at my concerts” - marijuana, that is. Wyclef’s guitar is back for his version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Wish You Were Here’.
Well, Jean fancies himself as ‘all-rounder’, i.e. jack-ofall-genres, and he is, as far as the showmanship goes. He knows well how to jump from one idiom to another like an Olympian athlete on steroids, regardless of whether he’s trained for it or not. (Music doesn’t always hit the mark…) Jean reckons he is the ‘Big W’ but not before Wu-Tang Clan and, even, Will Smith.
The whole show exudes an aura of the party season in Las Vegas and the atmosphere reaches carnival pitch several times during the evening. An ace entertainer.
Igor Mrzny
18-12-2001
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