Kelela Philadelphia Concert reviews
Not bad, not great
I primarily got tickets to this show to listen to Marc Broussard. The sound quality at the Greek was sub-par, making it sound no better than being in a small indoor bar, which is unusual for an outdoor venue with outstanding acoustics. While his music and musicianship were quite good, the balance was extremely flat -- the bass and the drums lacked punch and the vocals got lost in the mix. If you're an audiophile like me, you'd be very disappointed in the sound quality, especially since...
Kelela had the excellent sound quality that I expected. Her music isn't my favorite, so I thought the show was just okay -- her voice was clear and strong, and she and her band were fantastic musicians. The best part of the show, in my opinion, was her humorous exchanges with the band and the audience.
However, there was a lighted screen behind the band showing one of her music videos and other random visuals (like a cartoon monkey playing cymbals...???) which I found more distracting than enjoyable. Additionally, the outward lights were sometimes directed right into the audience's eyes, causing me to close my eyes and shield them with my hand, yet I could still see the bright lights flashing through my eyelids! Very irritating. It's hard to enjoy the music when you're in discomfort!