The return
I am unsure about the last time she played Hugh’s room, but she swears it was a long time ago when they had their place in Roncesvalles. It didn’t matter because Ndidi O is back and nearly everyone in the room was happy that she was here! I was one of the few that have never seen her before.
She simply walked on stage and explained what we were about to experience at Hugh’s Room this evening. She dedicated her first set to all her early material and the second set dedicated to her now mature sound. This is a tour of her new album called- “It’s about time”.
The First side
Almost like a compilation album, her first set was dedicated to her old and younger self. It seemed to be a reflection of who she used to be. The opening song sauntered in, like it was looking for a comfortable place to seep into your soul. Once settled in, the next song was so good; it put you into a laid back position and was very cheerful as she kept moving forward.
These experiences come from a woman who comes from the west coast BC and then moved to New York and honed her craft on the open mic scene there. She moved to Toronto and started a band and developed her Blues and Folk style of music. She is now back in BC.
With all these experiences, no wonder she has a song all about having your spirit crushed over time. This woman will have none of it! She just keeps coming back challenging that force to stand completely on her own, with no apologies.
If you think that song was rough, wait until you hear about her bastard cat named Toughy Thomas. He disappeared for a long time to be found living with another family. Now that is a swipe of the paw I did not see coming.
When Ndidi O speaks her mind, there are some interesting philosophies that come out of that mouth of hers. She is still in disbelief that we not only live on this planet but are the only species to pay for it. The people that collect all this money seem to use it to destroy what we have. That is a very strong message in today’s world.
You soon realize you are in the room with a person with a very precise way of seeing things. She may say she is uncool in her approach towards life. But I would disagree. With her quirky approach to conversations, she opens up her truths that have a quiet way of putting a spotlight on some of our problems. This slowly will etch out some form of change for the better, and that is cool.
The Second side
She flew in from very far away to be at Hugh’s Room this evening and boy were her arms tired. Yeah I know, very corny but I promised Butter Chicken that I would add that in my article.
Another wonderfully quirky thing about Ndidi O is she has some of the sweetest divorce songs out here. Taylor swift only sings about her boyfriends and break-ups. When is she going to start writing songs about divorce? Well, Ndidi O is already singing songs about spiritual uncoupling.
I think this artist will write a song on just about any topic and give it a creative spin. I think this may be the first time I heard a song about menopause. Now there was a news- FLASH I was not expecting.
As we were starting to come in for a landing, her philosophical songs were getting deeper. I hope so, since this is supposed to be the more mature songs from her.
With that said, her style is pretty chilled and her musical style can run from Pop to Blues to Bossa Nova with a little ADHD thrown in for good measure.
It was her cruise story that got me thinking about experiences. Ndid O had a terrible experience on a cruise ship and felt trapped while on vacation. This can lead into something that easily could happen to you or me. She took those moments and turned them into something happy. At the end of the day, how are you going to treat your experiences? Will you carry the complaining or the fear or the frustration of the experience, or will you take it as a lesson to do something positive. As a human we all have that choice. I choose to grow from those choices.
When she got to the last song, it really hit home for me. She stood on stage and did an A cappella song about being present. With the chant, This may be the last time…I don’t know, filled me with the power of living in the now and how important it is to stay full in that moment. Don’t let the past or the future suck away your energy when you are living fully right now. Thank you for reminding me.
If you want to learn more about Ndidi O here are a couple of links to start your journey with her.
Here are the many moods of Ndidi O:
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