I was crushed when Deee-Lite was here back in 1994 and I missed
them. I just figured I'd catched the next tour, but we all know
what happened after 'Dewdrops.' Imagine how deee-lighted I was to
find Lady Miss Kier would be headlining Portand's Pride Festival---
this was my chance to finally see her in action!

Her set began with her singing a few lines from "Bittersweet Loving"
accapella. One problem---her mic was not working. This was just the
start of an onslaught tech problems that would plague the first 15
minutes of her set. She handled it with grace and good humor, at one
point saying "It's not like you guys paid for a ticket, or
anything."

When that was sorted out, she brought out a four-piece band, which
included Ronkat on guitar---a nice surprise! But then her lap-top,
on which she had her setlist, began malfunctioning; it wasn't
playing the songs she wanted. It would only que up "Me and My
Records", which was clearly not what she wanted to start with. But
she did it anyway, while a tech person took a look at her laptop.
With the mic and laptop issues finally, she lauched into the rest of
her set.

She had a smartly-chosen mix of classic Deee-Lite tunes---"Good
Beat" "Who Was That" "Apple Juice Kissing" "Vote Baby Vote"---with
some of her solo work like "Blow My Horn", "Pinnochio Dick", and "Go
Down On Me." During "Groove is in the Heart" some people jumped up
onstage to dance with her during the rap section, which she handled
herself. One of them, a girl wearing a Lesbian Aliance T-Shirt, took
it upon herself to lick LMK from her ankles to her thighs. Again,
she handled this with good humor, saying "My ankle has never felt
better!"

Another audience participation moment came after "Apple Juice
Kissing"---she said "I'd love to get cottemouth later, if anybody
wants to meet up with me." Wouldn't you know someone had a joint
ready, lit it up, and handed it to her.

No matter how many pictures you see of her, nothing can prepare you
for how gorgeous LMK is in person---I mean NOTHING! After
singing "Groove" she commented that "that was 18 years ago. I'm
fatter now, but it's OK, 'cause I'm sexier than ever." The crowd
roared because she's right, the curves flatter her and she's a light
on her feet as she's always been. She sounded great, even during
part of the show where, she had to use a different mic, which meant
that she couldn't hear herself---she was still on-pitch.

Overall, this was been 14 years in the making for me and it was
absolutely worth the wait. If LMK is coming to your town or
anywhere near it---GO! You will have the time of your life.