Sasquatch 09: Erykah Badu

Renee McMahon

With the sun just going down over the Columbia River, the soothsayer of urban soul, Erykah Badu, just spent the past hour taking the crowd at Sasquatch on a journey through the various stages of her career. She came out dressed in sort of a dominatrix Betty Davis vibe with intensely tight playtex pants and a Public Enemy hoody. For those lucky enough to be on stage watching all of this from the rear, I've got to say that Badu was looking shapelier and tighter than you would expect anyone to 3 months after having birth. Frankly, she just oozed sexiness (she even wore a pair of pumps) and it was an energy that fitter her well.

What many of us witnessed was Badu's return to performing after recently giving birth February 1. For the most part, she moved and grooved like she always does. I'll say she wasn't bouncing all over the stage doing somersaults like she was the last time I saw her but she still had plenty of energy and a voice that continuously gets better rather than worse. Many of the songs she performed were from her 2008 release, New Amerikah Part One (4th World War) like "The Healer" and "My People," but she also dipped into older songs off of her Mama's Gun and Worldwide Underground discs as well. My favorite song of her set was "Kiss Me on My Neck," but no mater what tracks she performed along with her band, it sounded great.