D'Angelo delights fans at Fox

By W. Jacarl Melton

Daily Arts Writer

"How Does It Feel?" That's the question D'Angelo poses in the similarly titled song off of his latest release, "Voodoo." Judging from the female members of the audience in the Fox Theatre on April 22, the answer was clear: orgasmic. From the start, it was obvious that the audience would be as entertaining as the performance by the main attraction.

The evening began with the hip-hop act Dead Prez, a two-man group that may best be described as a less sophisticated version of Public Enemy. Their lyrics promote ideas of black power along with a challenge to today's popular hip-hop, which seems obsessed with sex, money and greed. The presence of Dead Prez's revolutionary stance and D'Angelo's sultry persona on the same bill seemed a poor combination considering Mos Def was originally listed as the opening act. Yet in their 20 minute set, Dead Prez held their own despite the apparent contradictory nature between them and D'Angelo.

After a 30-minute break in between acts, D'Angelo appeared. However, he didn't just walk out onto the stage. Ritualistic chanting accompanied several black-cloaked band members as they walked on the dark stage. A spotlight focused on a microphone where a figure that looked more like Darth Vader than D'Angelo started to go into "Devil's Pie." Suddenly, the stage went dark. When the lights came back on, a scene reminiscent of a Funkadelic or James Brown show was present. His band and back-up singers, the Soultronics, came out blazing led by drummer ?uestlove of the Roots and helped set the tone for most of the show.

Over the course of the three-hour show, D'Angelo covered material from both of his albums but focused much of his attention on his latest release. The audience was dancing in the aisles as he went into "Chicken Grease." Even more dramatic was the crowd's reaction to when the Soultronics started playing the opening bars to "Untitled (How Does It Feel)." As soon as the first chords were played, seemingly every female in the audience rose to their feet and began cheering uncontrollably. They were all a little disappointed when D'Angelo proved to use these few notes as a tease, instead opting to go into the James Brown classic "Sex Machine."

After a few more songs, D'Angelo, showing his versatility, took a seat at his electric piano and started into the song "Shit, Damn, Motherfucker" from his first album. Given the title of the song, the forthcoming events were inevitable. The song kept building until D'Angelo, vibing in part off the energy in the crowd, went on a miniature rampage. He jumped off stage, running up an aisle that ran in through part of the audience. He ran back onto the stage and leaped onto an elevated part of the stage where ?uestlove was drumming. D'Angelo proceeded to grab a cymbal from the drum set and threw it onto the stage below. The scene seemed more appropriate at a rock concert than an R&B one, yet it was entertaining nonetheless.

Though moments like the rampage were memorable, there were two scenes that occurred during a sensual rendition of "One Mo Gin" that were more so and best expressed the (female) audience's intense appreciation for D'Angelo. The tamest one was when several female audience members in the front row began to rub on his legs and stomach during the song. The second one became the talk of Detroit when one female in the audience ran down an aisle and leaped onto the stage without even touching it. She landed with her legs wrapped around D'Angelo's waist as he was on his knees singing. She was quickly removed by security but D'Angelo's ability to cause this much commotion is a testament to his abilities as a performer.

To close out the show, D'Angelo gave the audience what they had craved before but were denied, "How Does It Feel?" The audience was standing during the entire song as he belted out the tune that may be the first classic slow jam of the new century. It also served as a perfect question to ask an audience about their experience at a concert that many of them will not forget for some time to come.