Monday, Feb. 16, 2004 | 9:08 a.m.
Who: Erykah Badu with Floetry.
When: Saturday.
Where: House of Blues at Mandalay Bay.
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Emotions ran high at the start of Saturday night's Valentine's Day concert at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, but love was not foremost among them.
First, several fans expressed disappointment over missing the opening act -- British rap/soul duo Floetry -- after the pair took the stage earlier than expected and finished at around 8 p.m.
Impatience then became the overriding sentiment, as a jam-packed crowd of 1,800 booed the 75-minute wait for headliner Erykah Badu.
The 31-year-old vocalist quickly turned those boos into "Badu"s, however, winning back her audience with a moving 2-hour, 45-minute set that had fans chanting her name.
Badu arrived onstage as an Egyptian queen, performing a modern dance routine in flowing brown robes, her long dark hair hanging below her knees.
Later, she removed her outer garment, revealing a T-shirt pulled up to expose her navel.
Throughout the night, Badu rubbed her belly during lyrical references to babies and wombs, seemingly confirming published reports that she is pregnant with her second child. (She and OutKast's Andre 3000 are parents of a 6-year-old son).
Though generally pegged as contemporary R&B or neo-soul, Badu's music truly defines classification. Since bursting onto the scene in 1997, the Dallas native has demonstrated an ability to mix elements of other genres -- soul, jazz, funk and hip-hop among them -- into something altogether fresh and exciting.
That approach was evident all night Saturday, as the powerful singer, her two backing vocalists and a tight eight-piece band (including a turntable DJ) presented wide-ranging material from Badu's three excellent studio albums.
"Back in the Day" off latest disc "Worldwide Underground" sounded like an updated Spinners number, with a light sing-along chorus that goes "Back in the day when things were cool / All we needed was bop-ba ba-ba ba ba-da."
A more serious cut from that September release, "Danger," turned into a thumping P-Funk-style workout as Badu sang about the hazards of a "complex occupation" (drug dealing, she later explained).
Midway through the tune, Badu showed concern for her audience, shouting for her band to "Hold up!," then tossing water bottles to a woman who had passed out in front of the stage. Badu called for assistance, the fan was helped off the floor and was later said to be healthy and safe, according to a venue security guard.
Badu channeled jazz great Billie Holiday for graceful ballad "Orange Moon," repeating the line "How good it is" again and again, varying it with different inflections and intonations.
While Badu also tried her hand at a tamberine, a drum machine, a turntable of her own and even a guitar -- during a short, acoustic segment -- no one would deny that her voice remains her principal strength in a live setting.
Her vocal delivery appeared effortless all night, even when she really cut loose during "Kiss Me on My Neck" off 2000's "Mama's Gun." Badu's warm tones were easy to hear all night, soaring even against a background filled with trumpet fills and flute flurries.
Among many other highlights: spirited versions of "I Want You" and "Didn't Cha Know," along with a hilarious encore take on "Tyrone," the story of a deadbeat boyfriend who has been told to call a buddy to help him move out.
"I think you better call Tyrone ... but you can't use my phone," Badu sang, then improvised the end by suggesting a few alternative means of communication. "Put a message in a bottle," she offered, then "Get a towel and some smoke."
Memorable as it may have been, the concert was not entirely perfect. Seven times during the night, Badu stopped the flow of music to present a "shakra" about serious subjects including love, sexuality and race. After each, she banged two tuning forks together and held their "frequency" up to her microphone.
While Badu's conviction in her music, and her message, is admirable, the frequent breaks broke momentum too often, and her words seemed to bewilder even her most loyal supporters.
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