On the Road Again
Live Reviews:

Esthero
October 29, 1998
Industry Nightclub, Toronto, ON

Seeing Esthero live is like flipping throught the FM dial in Toronto late on a Sunday night. Some jazz, some R&B, some hip-hop, some rock, some fusion...tripping through just about every popular genre of the past thirty years, Esthero provide a soulful excursion into the funkier side of pop music in the nineties.

The last (and only other) time I saw Esthero live was in April of this year at a Sony listening party. Back then (how quickly things change!) Esthero was essentially a duo composed of Esthero the singer, and Doc the musical maestro. Since then, Esthero has toured, been a part of Summersault, and the duo have parted ways (Doc left to pursue studio-oriented interests).

Suffice to say that if the band's performance at Toronto's Industry Nightclub is any indication, touring has done Esthero much good, and their live show hasn't been hurt by Doc's unfortunate departure. Backed by guitar, bass, keys, drums, a man named Suge on the turntables, and Katherine Rose on backing vocals, Esthero put on a very impressive show as she ran through cuts from the impressive debut album "Breath From Another."

Touring has apparently loosened the band up, and given them the freedom to mess around with the songs...a salsa beat here...a big honkin' guitar solo over there, and a couple more opportunities for Shug to grab the mic and do a little MCing. One particular highlight came when Esthero gave up the stage mid-set so that Suge and a rapper named Skitz could do a lively number about getting loaded with the band.

In fact, everyone on stage had at least a moment to shine, what with a bass solo, a piano solo and a guitar solo all finding their way into the songs. Toronto songwriter Katherine Rose, who has been singing back-up for Esthero all year, has a strong, wonderful voice that fully complements Esthero's lead.

One of the biggest mysteries of the year to me has been why Esthero never blew up quite the way I (and a number of other people) hoped and expected she would...record label bungling, so-so video, losing a member of the creative process, who knows. But if the band can keep playing like this, and if Esthero's recent remix with the Goodie Mob (featured on the Slam soundtrack) takes off, the possibilities are endless.