Proof that Kelis Rogers could rightly expect to see her name up in lights alongside Mary J Blige and Missy Elliott came in the form of last year’s "Tasty" LP, which finally delivered on the early promise of her patchy but impressive debut, "Kaleidoscope". Spare, sassy, sensual and boasting a fistful of brilliant tunes, including recent Top Five hit "Milkshake", it employed a superstar production cast – the ubiquitous Neptunes, Andre 3000 of Outkast and ‘gospeldelic’ vocalist Raphael Saadiq among them.
Therein lies the sticking point of tonight’s show. Accusing a live performance of not measuring up to a studio recording might seem churlish and naïve – you trade the panache and polish of one for the visceral impact of the other – but the undeniable fact is that so much contemporary R&B and hip hop is defined by its production (eg Dr Dre, The Neptunes and Timbaland) that the tunes are often in trouble when shorn of their distinctive studio treatment.
It’s a problem Kelis faces throughout tonight. She bounces on stage – in denim micro-skirt, cropped blouson and loose, ginger ale-toned Afro - to the strains of Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s "Got Your Money", a four-piece band, backing vocalist and DJ behind her. The sound is muddier than the Thames on a rainy Tuesday for the introductory oldie "Young, Fresh And New", which sees Kelis struggling to be heard over the walloping beats and outbursts of funkadelic guitar. Workaday arrangements and sludgy sonics mar the mighty "Keep It Down", too, but Kelis seems blissfully unaware, as she hitches up the skirt that her mic pack threatens to pull down and plays hammy air guitar.
A breathy "In Public" – about the thrill of getting it on al fresco – follows, complete with the kind of lascivious bump and grind usually seen in a lap dancing club, but things calm down some when Kelis perches on a stool for the slim-line "Attention" and the agreeably husky scat that is "Get Along With You". Still, the band’s work is heavy-handed, the sound murky and undistinguished and the songs cry out for the minimalist snap and pop of their pristine recorded selves.
Finally, things perk up with "Millionaire", Kelis effortlessly replacing Andre 3000’s recorded vocal and with the DJ adding some neat scratch work to the rhythmic mix. A deliciously light ‘n’ breezy "Rolling Through The Hood" impresses, even if Kelis does shuffle apologetically through her lyric sheets for help, while a gruffly soulful cover of Sam Cooke’s "A Change Is Gonna Come" is quite a revelation. The thronging front rows, however, would undoubtedly nominate the encore as tonight’s highlight, since the lean, ragga-inflected "Milkshake" has a grinning, pumped-up Kelis whipping off her blouse to prance about in her bra, shaking her Tic-Tacs like there’s no tomorrow before finally disappearing.
That Kelis is a star is beyond question; what’s debatable is whether her brand of stylish and minimal R&B works best in the studio. On tonight’s evidence, it’s hard to decide whether live, she needs more support or less.
