Gil's deep voice transformed into the voice I had heard on "Winter in America" or "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised." Throughout the performance, I noted his ability to go from spoken word to singing to spoken word and back as he played the keyboard without ever really leaving the song. He was able to communicate abstract and non-abstract ideas and weave history in between choruses and verses of his songs.
The rhythm and good spirits behind the beats made me think
of the wholesome nature of the performance I was attending and long for more acts like Gil.
The connection Gil had to history became wholly evident; I imagined there was a lot of pain and struggle in Gil's mind but that he had the personality to make audiences stand up on their feet and take notice of joys in their life that they may not normally notice as a result of fear, anxiety, or exhaustion.
Gil and his band played many classics that I only wish I had been more familiar with. He played a tune after his band came on stage to play with him, which led into the latter part of a song that I found out later was called "Work for Peace." The opening was stripped away, unfortunately. So, the audience was not privy to the military & the monetary lyrics and the profound poetic words describing the way media handles war. But, Gil and his band turned "Work for Peace" into one of the most rousing numbers of the night.
With two keyboards musically going back and forth with each other in a bluesy rhythmic fashion, Gil called out a line and his female keyboardist responded. The audience was caught up in the energy of the song and eventually the song was like a gospel protest song that could have given life to any people's movement.
"If you believe in peace you gotta go to work/Ain't gonna be no peace unless you go to work/I don't wanna hurt nobody/Nobody can do everything but everybody can do something/If you believe in peace time to go to work."
I hadn't had the time to fully explore Gil Scott-Heron before sitting down to listen to him Thursday night. I had no idea he would play a song that so encapsulated many of thoughts I experience regualarly. Or, that he would play other songs that reflected the ideas and emotions in my mind that stemmed from the apathy, inaction, and beliefs in action and reaction that I experience daily.
How refreshing it was to know that younger generations found reason to laugh, love, and enjoy Gil Scott-Heron. One could say the future remains bright so long as people like Gil Scott-Heron can be invited to bring his band and his spirit to universities or colleges.
What was expressed in Gil's music (and what he has expressed over the past decades) hit me that night. Each of his songs detailed many woes and struggles of black people. The lyrics touched on many of the predicaments of working men and women. And, each song had a hint of joy and a few words to tug at your soul and make you feel like fighting on.
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