By Catherine Louise<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to write you a history lesson.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not going to write you a review filled with information you could simply Google.<\/p>\n
What I will <\/em>write is the story of a music industry veteran who woke up Ravinia last night, bringing the oft-sedate, wine-drinking, picnic-table-toting concertgoers to life, delighting longtime Seal fans and converting unfamiliar Ravina subscribers into new ones.<\/p>\n The scene at Ravinia was business as usual, at first. If you haven\u2019t been, the skinny on Ravinia (the Ra-skinny-a?) is that you\u2019re generally not just going for a concert; rather, you\u2019re going for an experience. The experience is that of a pre-performance picnic on a sprawling, tree-lined lawn, sipping wine or any beverage of your choosing (it\u2019s BYOB \u2013 yes, please), eating food that you\u2019ve carefully packed into smartly appointed picnic baskets (or, like this reviewer, crammed into an Igloo cooler).<\/p>\n At just a few minutes after 7, two musicians entered the stage and a strong beat began. Seal\u2019s voice entered the pavilion before he did \u2013 that unmistakable voice, smooth, marked by a bit of rasp and more than a bit of power. Once the crowd got over its initial shock that the song being performed was not, in fact, \u201cKiss from a Rose,\u201d people rose to their feet, slowly shedding their self-consciousness to move and dance to \u201cKiller\u201d from Seal\u2019s debut album. By the time he began his second song, \u201cLet Yourself,\u201d the crowd was fully engaged in this upbeat, energetic performance.<\/p>\n After the first three songs (rounded out by \u201cDaylight Saving\u201d), the music grew quiet, and Seal addressed his audience for the first time. After an emotional performance of \u201cDo You Ever,\u201d Seal walked down the stage\u2019s stairs and into his audience, speaking directly to several fans. He shared a bit about his experiences in Chicago, and finished his crowd-chat by saying that \u201cwe\u2019ve turned this into a conversation, which is how I like it.\u201d And turn it into a conversation he had: while sometimes, these audience interactions spur idle chatter among audience members as they anxiously wait for the music to begin again, Seal\u2019s engaging storytelling and heartfelt comments had clearly captured the crowd\u2019s attention. Before beginning his next song, Seal said that he wanted to \u201cdedicate this song to people who have suffered loss all around the world.\u201d He then began \u201cPrayer for the Dying,\u201d which stood in noticeable contrast to the concert\u2019s dance-y, exuberant opening. But while the dancing ceased, the audience\u2019s energy and engagement didn\u2019t; in fact, the crowd seemed more interested than ever. The middle portion of the concert featured some of these more heartfelt, music-centric performances, and through them all, the audience\u2019s enjoyment and interest seemed only to increase \u2013 particularly when Seal picked up a guitar and, sweating, quipped, \u201cwhy didn\u2019t you tell me I was wearing a jacket?\u201d before shedding his blazer and beginning to play.<\/p>\n The show continued to get more personal; more intimate. Of definite note was Seal\u2019s cover of \u201cSpace Oddity,\u201d which was prefaced by his quiet comment that \u201cit\u2019s been quite a year. Do you know what I mean by that?\u201d and punctuated by many crowd members again rising to their feet in an emotional and appreciative display of this simple, true-to-the-original cover. Other memorable covers included a much-better-than-the-original (in this non-Hall-and-Oates-fan\u2019s humble opinion) rendition of \u201cSara Smile\u201d and a solid cover of Tears for Fears\u2019 \u201cMad World.\u201d Through the show\u2019s quieter moments, it was almost as if the crowd had forgotten about the show\u2019s dance and beat-heavy moments, instead reveling in the sensation that we were all seated not in the pavilion or on the lawn, but rather at the stage\u2019s edge, hushed and happy participants in that \u201cconversation\u201d Seal had begun with us.<\/p>\n The energy built once again as the main set concluded with \u201cMy Vision\u201d and a rendition of \u201cLe Freak,\u201d during which Seal backed away, waving a fake, pre-encore goodbye. A few audience members began to file out, still wondering what happened to \u201cKiss from a Rose\u201d and clearly forgetting that nobody, but nobody, leaves without an encore. And quite an encore it was: four songs, including, yes, \u201cKiss from a Rose,\u201d(met with a collective sigh of relief from those who knew only that song) but also featuring Prince\u2019s \u201cHot Thing,\u201d as well as \u201cLife on the Dance Floor\u201d and \u201cCrazy.\u201d During \u201cLife on the Dance Floor,\u201d Seal came back into the audience \u2013 and I mean all the way in \u2013 <\/em>in fact, about four feet away from me \u2013 and stood on a chair, dancing with his fans. The crowd went crazy: these oft-subdued Ravinia regulars (mainly women, but a few sheepishly excited men pushed their way into the thick of it, as well) left their seats, dancing like crazy, rhythm and coordination be damned. It was a fabulous moment: the climax of Seal\u2019s musical \u201cconversation.\u201d<\/p>\n Seal put on quite a show at Ravinia Festival last night with a set designed to reimagine his best-known hits while also opening the eyes of the unfamiliar to his sometimes upbeat, frequently emotional, and always passionate music.<\/p>\n