Concert Review: Anita Baker, Farewell Tour
December 13, 2019
At 61, Anita Baker’s seen, and done, it all. Beginning her career in the late ‘70s, Anita Baker’s had the privilege of being the soundtrack to several generations of music lovers and a mentor to younger artists. For my mom, who is one year younger than Anita Baker, Anita’s music was the music of her generation. For me, my introduction to Anita Baker’s came through our local Smooth Jazz and R&B radio station in Philadelphia — WJJZ — that would play her music frequently, and a station my mom and aunts would have on regularly. Anita Baker’s music has been a musical point of reference and unifying force for both my mom and I.
In early 2018, Anita Baker announced that she would be heading out on her final tour. Philadelphia was not included in the initial list of dates for 2018, but we would be included for her 2019 slots. On Friday December 6th, Anita Baker brought her Farewell Tour to Philadelphia’s Liacouras Center. For this show, my Mom and I attended the concert, and after the show we talked about seeing Anita Baker in concert and gave our thoughts on her performance. Here’s our conversation:
Stanley: What did you think about the concert? What was your favorite moment/song?
Mom: I loved it! I loved her performance, and her music is awesome! The audience showed their love towards her throughout the night. So much so, that the audience would become like a big choir singing her songs, and she would stop and just say “my band is your band tonight.” So she let us sing, and would ad-lib with us. Then, she would say “you had your turn, now it’s my turn to sing!” I’m glad she did this, after all we did go to see and hear her sing. This happened for two songs. To me, this shows how much the audience knows and loves her music! I imagine they’re saying “this is my song” so we sing automatically with or without you. Another thing that I liked was the musicians and singers, they did a fantastic job! Anita said during the performance everything was “live,” and you could hear it too! The rich sounds and Anita’s voice were a perfect blend. Trust me, I was grooving to the music, nodding my head! While, I enjoyed all of her songs selections, my favorite was Sweet Love. What did you think about the show?
Stanley: I loved the show too! I thought her voice sounded incredible, maybe even better than the recordings. I loved the way she reinterpreted some songs. In particular, something I was really impressed by was her vocal phrasing - how she put melodies together - it was almost horn-like in some ways.
Early in the show she was really giving it to the sound team. Now, I think it's easy for some to walk away with her being a "diva" or "mean," but I appreciated her attention to detail. She knows how her music is supposed to sound, and she communicated what was necessary to the team.
The crowd was into the show the entire night, and she showed great energy despite showing a noticeable limp. She's got an incredible catalog of music. In fact, her catalog is so incredible that she could do Sweet Love, arguably her most popular song, pretty early in the night, it was the third song I believe, and it didn't feel like the show's energy went down.
Lastly, I loved that she brought out Lalah Hathaway to perform Angel with her! Anita Baker thanked her and mentioned that she, Lalah, carried her music when she wasn’t able to. That was a really special moment - to witness the genealogy, legacy, and tradition of Black music in real time.
Stanley: How did Anita Baker’s performance/concert compare to other show’s you’ve been to? How did the music sound in the room?
Mom: The most recent concert I went to was the Commissioned Reunion concert two weeks ago, which was amazing, but I’ll compare that to Anita Baker’s concert. I enjoyed both tremendously, the only difference was the venue. The Commissioned Reunion concert was held at a smaller, more intimate location at The Met Philadelphia. Both locations are near in distance, however, one is designed for music, and the other is not, but was still good. I felt I got my monies worth, and enjoyed both. How did Anita Baker’s concert compare to other shows you have been to?
Stanley: This was the first farewell tour I've ever been to. This show had a special energy to it -- it felt like part retirement party, part reunion, part lifetime achievement award ceremony. I can also say that, in terms of demographics, most of the people in attendance skewed older (no surprise there), but also, her show was mostly Black, and that felt good. It really felt like a family reunion with my 6,000 closest aunts and uncles.
In terms of the venue, I was kind of shocked (maybe upset?) that the show was held at the Liacouras Center. I kind of wish it was held somewhere made for music lol. Nonetheless, I thought the sound was good, and ironically, it felt pretty intimate despite the size of the room.
