Concert: Brand New Heavies @Paradiso, Amsterdam 2007
General Info
Artist: The Brand New Heavies
Location: Paradiso, Amsterdam
When: 13 May 2007
Who?
This band, The Brand New Heavies, used to be one of my favorite bands back in the 90s - they have this great retro thing going on: classic Soul with a hint of modern influences; back then, they called it acid jazz.
Their first, self-titled album still triggers sweet memories of a more personal nature (yep, it’s private, so bugger off gently..). And their second album, Heavy Rhyme Experience, Volume 1 is one of my favorites. After more ten years, I got a chance to see these guys performing live again!
The Show
Due to a small scheduling screwup by yours truly, we arrived just minutes before the show started (sorry about the Hieronymus Fox ;)). You really could feel a bit of anticipation in the crowd and I think most of them weren’t disappointed. For me, the new songs didn’t work at all but when they did their classics like Dream Come True and BNH, I was a happy little puppy. My all-time favorite, Stay This Way took me back to Nostalgic Times!
But still, something wasn’t quite right: the band played a solid set and miss N’Dea Davenport’s vocals were excellent, yet it all seemed a bit.. routine, I guess..
Conclusion
Excellent band, some high points in the set combined with some low and uninspired points. The 90-minutes set (including 2 encores) didn’t feel like the uplifting experience I expected from seeing and hearing this band again; but that could be just me not properly managing my expectations, heh.
Maybe Nostalgia only gets you that far.
Rating: 
UPDATE: Here’s Hieronymus Fox’s review on Last.fm.
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May 23rd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
N’dea will always Bee the Queen Bee. Never one to be a HAM (Hot Ass Mess) on stage, she always had such classic style and energy. But if the shit is getting tired then they need to retire. Giving Karaoke Night shows at this stage. You know that you could go down to your local and see the same thing. Eveyone sing together now! Get Used To It at the time sounded like a threat but now it’s a reality. Get used to hot ass garbage from BNH. Save for a few good tunes on that album, the rest was a mess. Good review Son. Keep up your Fracas, man.
May 23rd, 2007 at 4:13 pm
well put R U, I guess if I want to get into some BNH grooves I’ll stick with the old stuff and try only remember the high points of this gig..
thx for the comments!
May 26th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
He, thanks for linkin’ to my last.fm review!