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-- Andrew Lindemann Malone
Teedra Moses
In 2004, New Orleans-born singer Teedra Moses had minor commercial success with her single "Be Your Girl," while the album it came from, "Complex Simplicity," gathered a following among critics and dedicated R&B fans. Saturday night at the Black Cat, Moses performed an uneven, 45-minute set that did not always help in reestablishing her presence. Although she was the headliner, opening act Eric Roberson played a longer set -- and, oddly, surprise guest Raheem DeVaughn closed out the night with one song.
On disc, Moses largely alternated between light, pop-friendly and slightly earthier confessional songs, although she included one gospel vocal tribute to her late mother. However, joined live by a guitarist, bassist, drummer and two backing vocalists, her voice often sounded tinny as she tried too hard to add old-school soulfulness. "Complex Simplicity" featured bouncy beats and clever lyrics about coping with life, but Moses should not have tried to compete with backing vocalist Yulunda Bell in gospel-soul emoting.
Moses's enthusiasm and her down-to-earth lyrics about relationships sometimes made up for the onstage musical weaknesses in her short performance. She energetically used the stage, gestured theatrically with her hands, and had many women singing along with the likes of "You'll Never Find (a Better Woman)," "Take Me" and "You Better Tell Her." But with the emphasis on her long-ago debut, it is unclear what her future holds. (Her label says it will release a long-delayed follow-up CD soon.)
Howard grad Roberson has been hailed as an heir to Smokey Robinson. This star of the indie-label neo-soul scene showed flashes of such brilliance, but his overly mannered, retro approach to ballads did not consistently display the hooks or poetry of that Detroit legend. DeVaughn's falsetto gorgeously ended the show with a seemingly impromptu take on OutKast's Prince-like slow groover "Prototype."
-- Steve Kiviat
