Reagon transcends categories

Righteous singer brings driving rock, folk to 'Sco

At first glance, Toshi Reagon's concert at the 'Sco Monday night could pass for a taping of "MTV Unplugged." Students waited patiently for the band to show up, sitting on the floor or in easy chairs. When Toshi Reagon finally took the stage with the Righteous Ones, she quickly let the crowd know that the chairs were a "temporary condition." Starting her first song, the singer said, "My name is Toshi Reagon. I'm a sensitive and compelling folk singer from New York." Once "There Are" began, the crowd had little choice but to relinquish their chairs. Bopping her head like a mighty bass drum pedal, Reagon sang, "Me, I'm not trying to lose my mind / Can you sing freedom with me one more time?" These lines served the crowd well, who eagerly appeased the energetic singer.

Reagon's next song was "Happy and Satisfied." Before starting the song she introduced "this special love song" for those who are in love. "They're probably only in the moment," Reagon said, laughing, "but what a great moment it is." In "Happy and Satisfied" Reagon and the Righteous Ones make the audience ignore such trite lyrics as "Well now do you wanna fall in love/ Take some steps into my shelter." Guitarist Adam Widoff, bassist Fred Cash and drummer Chicken easily kept up with the driven rock beats. Widoff and Cash paired up to keep Reagon's lead guitar in line.

Reagon then launched into "Sweet in the Morning," the perfect song for those times "when it hurts so bad, the only remedy is to pull out the old blues record." Widoff controlled the slow, methodic pace of the tune. Cash maintained the bass line throughout "Sweet in the Morning" as he did throughout the entire show - eyes shut, quietly pounding out the deep riffs. Much of Reagon's set list included energetic ballads of love. This one was no exception as she sang, "And we danced all night long / I'm down with some sassafras / Now all my blues is gone."

Reagon's next tune was "Like it That Way," a sweetly-melded combination of blues, scat and rock. The singer labelled the song a "post-Dylan-esque country and western punk tune." Throughout this song, which proved to be one of the best in the set, Reagon's voice took on many different forms. Belting out the chorus, Reagon sang, "You just want to be sad / You just want to be mad / You really like it that way." The robust rock was really blues dressed up with Reagon's sultry voice. The song seemed to be as much about an exhortation of an ex-lover as it was an internal appeal for strength.

When Reagon's voice boomed, it was not hard to wonder why she drove the show. In a lull after a furious rendition of "Like it That Way," she asked, "You wanna sing 'Kum-ba-ya? You wanna sing the Oberlin fight song?" With that, Reagon launched into a demonstration of Oberlin pride as she improvised a fight song, complete with lines about cornfields. The crowd laughed at the performer's charismatic stage presence.

Luckily, Reagon continued with "Livin' After All (Big Mountain Blues)." Before she leapt into the song, she explained the line the audience would have to sing. Reagon said, "You better be fierce" and then ripped into the energetically uplifting tune. She sang, "Just like the mountains I know I'll be / I won't fall / I'm livin' after all," and when the moment came, the crowd sang "Yeah, yeah, yeah" in a sudden burst of harmonic passion. Even Reagon was impressed. For "Real Love", Reagon taught the crowd the requisite four parts as she intoned beautifully the reprise "real love." The crowd, though, managed to blend all four parts into one monotone. Regardless, Reagon more than made up for this as she crooned straight from the soul, the modern incarnation of an old blues singer. As the song ended, Reagon and the Righteous Ones showed their musicianship as they switched instruments repeatedly; Reagon took up the drums, Chicken played guitar and Cash hunched his large frame over the mike.

While Reagon proved to be the prototypical dynamic stage presence, she would have been lost without the practice hands of her rhythm section. Widoff, Cash and Chicken adeptly played behind a masterful singer whose very mastery threatened to overpower the show. Fortunately, the triumvirate managed to keep the soulful diva in check with their own instrumental prowess. For those who missed the show, the only substitute is Reagon's latest CD entitled The Righteous Ones, and even that does not compare.