By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
April 15, 1991
Despite a more than two hour delay in its concert, the absence of one of its members and some early mixing trouble, Deee-Lite performed a fun, musically diverse concert Sunday night at the Riviera that showed it has a lot more to offer than a stylishly retro look.
By 9:40, well after the 7:30 scheduled start, the enthusiastic chants of “We want Deee-Lite!” had been replaced by shouts of “refunds.” But when comely vocalist Lady Miss Kier strode onto stage, the fans were easily nudged back into a good mood.
That the musicians’ tongues were planted firmly in cheek for many of their songs was evident in their first song, “What Is Love?” After letting out a kittenish “ooh la la,” Kier launched into a babble of nonsensical faux Francais that she pulled off with aplomb.
Performing to a packed house of “cosmic doodlebugs” who were into the group’s self-described “holographic House groove music” from the first funky notes, Kier and Super DJ Dmitry performed minus one DJ, Jungle DJ Towa Towa. Musically, he wasn’t missed. The backup band included bassist Bootsy Collins (of Funkadelic fame) and deft keyboardist Trey Stone.
Performing songs from its debut album, “World Clique,” Deee-Lite seemed much more confident than when it played last November at Shelter to a packed house. Driven by Kier’s surprisingly soulful voice, Deee-Lite turned in faithful renditions of its songs. There seemed to have been some problems with the monitors, though, because it took several numbers before Kier’s melodies got in sync with the rhythm section.
By the time the group performed its Top 5 hit, “Groove Is in the Heart,” the kinks had been worked out. Kier punctuated the futuristic melody breaks with slow-motion body waves that made her bodysuit glimmer under the fluorescent spotlights.
One fault with Deee-Lite is that some of its songs began sounding like covers of any number of songs from the 1970s. But what separates this band from any number of imitators of the past is the sly way its members translate that familiarity into something their own. For instance, the moaning intro to “Who Was That?” sounded an awful lot like David Bowie’s “Golden Years.” But Dmitry’s sampling quickly laid down the foundation for Kier’s vocal, which was a pleasing mixture of coquettish pop and forthright soul.
The show lasted less than 90 minutes, considerably shorter than the audience’s wait beforehand. The delay apparently was caused by a misunderstanding as to when the band was supposed to hit the stage. Several young women pressed against the stage waiting for the show looked woozy.
Even cosmic doodlebugs tire of waiting beyond the call of duty.
This review originally ran in the Chicago Sun-Time features section: page 25, section 2.
