Macy Gray in Berlin

I had a lot of admiration and good things to say when Macy Gray released her 2016 album “Stripped”. And I still go back to her debut album “On How Life Is”, which came out in 1999. Macy is currently on a big tour celebrating 25 years since her debut. But yesterday, some things went into the wrong direction. Her idiosyncratic way of phrasing reminded a lot of people of Billie Holiday – back then when her career started. Yesterday at her Berlin stop at Admiralspalast, there were only hints of her vocal prowess. She didn’t really sing her songs, but rather just enunciating her lyrics. It felt like she would think that her still remarkable and unique voice would overshadow everything else. She just didn’t use her voice to full effect. Songs were cut short at times. It was strange to see her turn around and walk to a little table every few minutes. I saw this same behavior many years ago when Whitney Houston was in town, coming up with a disastrous performance.

There was no passion, no heart and soul in pieces like “The Way” or “Sweet Baby”. Macy was mostly backed by a bass and drums. Yes there was a keyboard player too, but he seemed to be unoccupied for most of the set, except for a lackluster solo around 30 minutes into the set when Macy left the stage. By this time, several people in the audience (the venue was half full by the way) left for good too. I couldn’t believe my ears when she completely ruined the tried and tested “Sunny”. Yes, she was asking the audience to sing along from time to time, but for most of the evening, she seemed to be somewhere else, in her own world, not at all attached to what was going on around her. I have to admit that I left early too, because I just couldn’t stand it any longer. Maybe she’s in much better shape on the remaining dates of her tour:

5/27 Hamburg – Laeiszhalle
5/28 Skive – KulturCenter Limfjord
5/29 Odense – Odeon
5/30 Stockholm – Vasateatern
6/01 Helsinki – House of Culture
6/03 Riga – Palladium
6/04 Vilnius – Kongresu Rūmai
6/06 Prague – SaSaZu
6/07 Bielsko-Biala – Cavatina Hall
6/08 Warsaw – Klub Stodola
6/09 Lódz – Klub Wytwórnia
6/11 Bucharest – The Roman Arenas
6/12 Sofia – Pirotska 5 Event Center
6/14 Bratislava – Majestic Music Club
6/15 Regensburg – Audimax
6/16 Vienna – Simm City
6/17 Brno – Sono Centrum
6/19 Ljubljana – Kino Šiška
6/20 Zagreb – Tvornica Kulture