Would she show up, or wouldn’t she? It was the question seemingly on the minds of everyone who dropped $60 to see Lauryn Hill perform last night at Higher Ground. Apparently, Hill, the former Fugees star and and famous flamer-outer, has a history of ditching shows people have paid good money to see. So every ticketholder for last night’s show was wondering the same thing — would she, or wouldn’t she?
That anyone would spend $60 to see Ms. Lauryn Hill perform songs from her near-anorexic body of work, was mind-blowing to me. Don’t get me wrong — The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill was a singularly stellar album and provided the soundtrack to my junior year of college. But sister has 14 songs to her name, not including those penned with the Fugees, and hasn’t released an album since 2002’s MTV Unplugged No. 2.0. So $60 is a bit rich for my blood, on principle. But maybe I’m just a cheapskate.
Bucking speculation that she would be a no-show, Hill played Higher Ground just like her people promised she would. Granted, she went on at 11:30 p.m. — an hour and a half after she was supposed to hit the stage. Some people got so fed up with waiting, they demanded refunds from Higher Ground. And, according to a Higher Ground employee, they did give a “handful” of refunds due to the high cost of the ticket and the fact that the show was on a Sunday night, as opposed to a non-school/work night.
So what I’m wondering, fair readers, is this: How was the show? Was it worth the 60 shekels? Did she blow you away? Did she live up to the hype? Were the back-up singers the best part of the night? If you wouldn’t spend $60 to see Lauryn Hill, who would you spend that much, or more, to see? Lady Gaga? Insane Clown Posse? Nelson? Let us know below.
This article appears in Dec 15-21, 2010.
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Sadly, I think it would have been more entertaining to light my $60 on fire. By the time she finally got on stage around 11:30/11:45, she’d already lost me, and it was going to take a lot more than a mediocre performance to get me back. Sometime around 12:20am, she played a string of higher-energy songs that sounded great, but I was already exhausted, annoyed and over it.Higher Ground is such a great venue, and from the very beginning of the madness (swapping show dates, tickets going up/coming down), they did everything they could to keep show-goers informed and happy. My problem is definitely not with the venue — it’s with the disrespect paid to ticket holders by the performer.The only bright spot of the evening was A-Dog. He had to keep an increasingly surly crowd entertained, and he did a great job. I’m much more likely to support his future efforts than Miss Lauryn Hill’s.
Mea culpa for the homophone typo. Thank goodness for citizen proofreaders.
D’oh! I missed the principal. I’m fixing it.– the ed.
“So $60 is a bit rich for my blood, on principal.”In this context, you mean “principle.”
The show was set to start at 9 on a Sunday after changing the day three times. An hour before the show HG posted a facebook post saying Lauryn might not show up right at 9 but don’t worry, Adog will be spinning. (don’t get me wrong I love Adog and go to see him often at Red Square… although that’s $5, not $60). I got my money back at 11:40, so she definitley was not on at 11:30. Love you Ms. Hill but have some repect and maybe learn a few customer service skills as we are the generation who bought your one hit album so you could feed those 4 kids the past ten years.
Sounds like this guy didn’t like it:http://www.bigtakeover.com/concerts/lauryn-hill-higher-ground-s-burlington-vt-sunday-december-19-2010
Wu is tomorrow night. Tickets are $40.And guess how many albums they have put together, as a group AND individually…;)
I loved it! I was def frustrated that it started late (and was a rough start at that), but it turned out to be a fantastic show. She performed for 1.5+ hours straight and built energy as the show went on.She sang most of her Miseducation songs as well as gave us all some Fugee love. But for people who only knew/loved the “KillingMeSoftlyEx-FactorDooWop” Lauryn Hill, they were likely disappointed because a lot of the show was her rapping (and showed that she continues to be one of the best female rappers alive).The true hero of the night was DJ A-Dog who stretched his set to 2.5 hrs which kept the angry mass from revolting.We even got to see a touch of the crazy Lauryn. All in all, I am glad I didn’t miss it and was amazing to see one of the best perform.
Nice review
Paying $60 for a show that starts 90 minutes late is like prostitution: in both cases you are paying to get screwed.