Concert Review
Joan's sultry voice seduces LA crowd
By Keith CaulfieldStaff Writer
Yes, there really is more
to Joan Osborne than that damn "God" song. The woman can sing, shake and
sizzle so well onstage--she's j06-ust this side of Madonna and Janis Joplin
rolled into one. Though many critics and fans trip up and compare
practically every female rocker to Janis Joplin, Osborne actually fulfills
the lofty comparison as she proved last weekend at the Wiltern.With slinky moves and
seductive looks, Osborne seduces the audience. Well, yes, her music is good
too, but what also stands out is her stage presence. With little more than
some black light posters and candles to decorate the set, the ambience was
not created by a fancy stage set, but rather by Joan and her giddy backing
band.Osborne and company plowed
through most of the material on her debut album, "Relish," including the
rolicking "Right Hand Man," the thoughtful "Crazy Baby" and "Lumina." While
Osborne and company got off to a swell start, the crowd wasn't as into the
music as the players on stage were. It wasn't until after some prodding
from Osborne did the audience finally get up out of their chairs and get
their groove on.In between snapping
Polaroids of herself, the band and the crowd and tossing them out to the
audience, Osborne stopped to comment on how happy she was to be in L.A. and
at the Wiltern. Osborne was in the city about a month ago, appearing at the
VH1 Honors, where she performed "Right Hand Man" with her band and a
sizzling duet with R&B crooner Tony Rich. Together they performed the
Stones "Beast Of Burden" and Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."Osborne did perform top 10
single, "One Of Us," eliciting a standing ovation less than 10 seconds into
the song. Osborne has migrated from the land of "one-hit wonders" to "solid
performers." Indeed, her presence needs to be felt from the stage. Listen
to her album after seeing her live, and well, you get the feeling as if
half the passion of the songs were left in the studio before they made it
onto the album, for on-stage Osborne pours her heart (and then some) into
her music.Opening act G. Love &
Special Sauce ran through a short, but effective set. Their funk/rap/R&B
combo works well, even though their stage presence is a little less than
stellar.Joan Osborne is now touring Germany with Bon Jovi.