By Ruvin Spivak
Daily Bruin Contributor
Somehow, Macy Gray can put on the most ridiculous outfit, sing
like a 50-year-old smoker, hide half her face for 50 minutes and
still sell out the Knitting Factory in Hollywood three times in one
month. There’s something in her aura. It’s contagious,
and it makes fans do some strange things too.
The fashionably unfashionable singer came up on stage ranting,
without her band, telling those who knew they were sexy to hit the
dance floor. Of course, a couple minutes later, the crowd was
jumping to some a cappella freestyle and somehow a few shirts flew
on stage.
That’s when the band came out.
Macy Gray and her nine-piece ensemble hit the ground running at
their last of three Knitting Factory performances last Wednesday.
They covered Macy’s repertoire as well as unusual renditions
of pop hits like Britney Spears’ “”¦Baby One More
Time.” The cover was so unexpected it took the crowd a couple
minutes to figure out they were actually singing, “My
loneliness is killing me. I must confess, I still
believe.”
Her ability to disguise even her own music with alternative
rhythms kept the crowd on its feet. Performances of new songs such
as, “Sexual Revolution” and “Boo,” got so
convoluted in improvisation, it was hard to tell how she’d
ever slide into the popular single, “I Try.” But she
did.
It seemed like she tried to stay away from playing her most
popular tunes, but they kept coming back in different incarnations.
“I Try” recapitulated at least six times, twice as the
chorus to different songs. But every time it was well received
because she varied the beats.
Macy Gray displayed her talent for obscurity and funk, with no
gimmicks. That night, she proved she had a pot full of humor and a
bag full of tricks.
Macy Gray’s wardrobe alone begged for ridicule, but nobody
seemed to notice while they danced to psychedelic grooves.
Some lucky fans got to dance with the singer on stage. Others
managed to get her attention by playing peek-a-boo from the
crowd.
Basically, Macy Gray was able to spread a continuous smile
amongst an audience that ranged from hippies to b-boys and
girls.
The evening was special for more than just its audience
participation. Macy Gray proved she was still on top of her music.
With an eclectic set of musicians, even snippets of familiar songs
became distorted as if they crossed through the lenses of her
bug-eyed glasses.
Finally, as the set drew to a close, Gray introduced her
incredible ensemble and then surprised the crowd by introducing the
Grammy nominated singer, Nelly Furtado, who stole the microphone to
scat over a few bars of music.
After so many surprises, it was almost no surprise that Macy
Gray would leave the crowd jumping to a brand new song that sounded
like a 1917 communist revolution anthem.
With a sweating, dancing and smiling crowd, one would think Macy
Gray played two sets and an encore. Unfortunately, the big drawback
of the show was that it only lasted 50 minutes. It would have been
interesting to see where the music could have gone after another
hour.
Overall, for $10, the show was beyond what the crowd expected.
Even though it seemed as if Macy Gray was just getting started, her
three-show Knitting Factory series was just a taste of what the
mainstream has been missing by not embracing her new album on
either radio or MTV.
Her farewell message to the crowd was positive,
“Don’t be full of hate. Don’t be full of shit.
Just be full of yourself.” It was a strange but empowering
message and show. The crowd left the venue singing and really,
that’s all that mattered.