Review - Seal @ the Mountain Winery (8/17/17)

Seal (Photo: Kevin Keating)

The multi-award winning singer-songwriter, Seal, stopped by Saratoga's Mountain Winery last night for an albeit short (80 min.), but impressive show that ran through his biggest hits along with a few songs from his most recent album, 7 (iTunes).

Seal (Photo: Kevin Keating)

It’s been nearly two years since the release of 7, and at one point in the show, Seal mentioned how he’s been busy working on something we’ll hear more about shortly — hopefully, referencing a new album that’s in the works. But maybe more importantly, Seal throughout the show, talked about the importance of love, feelings of isolation, and joked that we're (as a nation) currently in a 12-step program, where the first two steps are acceptance and understanding.

Seal (Photo: Kevin Keating)

At times, I couldn't tell if Seal was talking about the political climate or the challenges he's faced in his personal life over the past few years, but either way, it was a compassionate discussion that we in the audience could interpret various ways. But at the heart of the night laid his music, which as you'd expect was phenomenal as usual. Seal was accompanied by bay area native, Issac Bolivar on guitar and backing vocals, and Tim Weidner on the keyboard/sampler/computer and backing vocals as well.

Seal (Photo: Kevin Keating)

Personally speaking, I would have liked to have seen Seal play the guitar a bit more than he did. In fact, another audience member at one point yelled 'don't put down the guitar!' too... but Seal's voice was superb. He bookended the night by opening with an amazing version of "Killer" (iTunes), and closed the night with his first major hit, "Crazy" (iTunes). You can checkout the full setlist below.

I'd also add that Seal's opener, Judith Hill, was incredible as well. She kicked off promptly at 7:30pm to largely an empty bowl, and the few of us in our seats soon realized how lucky we were. Judith sat behind her grand piano and belted out jazzy numbers that highlighted both her vocal range and skills on the keys. She's a tremendous talent and has worked with the likes of Michael Jackson, Josh Groban, John Legend, and Prince.

It was a great night and here's hoping for a new album soon!

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