The R&B singer played hits from ‘when some of ya’ll were 10’, Kacey Musgraves gave an intimate country show and Neon Indian brought out his dance moves
After a dispiriting morning watching Tony Visconti give an impression of an old man yelling at clouds in his keynote speech which basically said that the music industry is screwed, something uplifting was needed. It was time to head to the space in Austin, Texas co-sponsored by Spin magazine and Axe, the kind of deoderant worn by teenage boys. Into this unpromising environment came John Legend, who took his seat at a grand piano set on stage at one end of a courtyard and performed a handful of numbers solo.
Legend’s melismatic R&B will never been anywhere near music’s cutting edge – and arguably it’s a lot less interesting than his politically savvy Twitter feed – but on a sticky St Patrick’s Day afternoon, a swirling take on Green Light goes down like a cold Guinness. It’s followed by Ordinary People (“some of y’all were 10 when it came out,” notes Legend), which inspires a spontaneous audience singalong. Suave and smiley, Legend is a winning presence, and while his version of Bob Marley’s Redemption Song has none of the rawness of the original, it’s smoothness doesn’t make it any less sincere. With an announcement that he has a new album coming out in September, and a shamelessly slushy All of Me to conclude, Legend leaves the crowd sweaty enough to require some of that deoderant – even if the free sticks being given away are scented with “amber and tobacco”.
Related: Kacey Musgraves: ‘I’d sound country even if I didn’t want to’
Continue reading...by Lanre Bakare and Alex Needham in Austin via Electronic music | The Guardian
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