It’s been over thirty years since the world was introduced to Seal, who took the 90s by storm with the release of his first two albums Seal and Seal II, numerous hit songs, and a skyrocketing career that solidified the soulful British crooner’s status as pop culture icon and global superstar. This is the reason for Seal’s current world tour, which finds him celebrating the anniversaries of those definitive first two albums. On Saturday, June 10th, Seal brought the final portion of the tour to Portland, Oregon’s Keller Auditorium for a powerful show that reaffirmed his status as a musical icon while reminding the audience that his voice and charisma remain as vital and in-tact as ever.
Warming up the crowd was The Buggles, featuring the members of Seal’s band and fronted by the legendary Trevor Horn. Though many didn’t know what to expect from a band best known for the the 1980 megahit “Video Killed the Radio Star,” they were treated to an incredible set that found Horn introducing each song with a fascinating morsel of music history before ultimately bringing it back to that very song that came to define the MTV generation. The set would also encompass Horn’s illustrious career as a member of Yes, Art of Noise, and producer of many others including Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Seal, who he helped introduce to the world. After opening with a proggy, danceable instrumental take on Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s “Two Tribes,” Horn lead the band into the jaunty rollercoaster that is “Living In The Plastic Age” and the catchy and mysterious blue-eyed pop rock of “Elstree.” Even in his 70s, Horn’s voice was remarkably youthful and his skills as a bassist were sharper than ever. This was on full display for the ridiculously funky intro to the Art of Noise tune “Close (to the Edit),” which also showcased a medley of creative sampling that reminded the audience just how influential Horn was to the music of the 80s. Riding the high of that tune, Horn then guided the band back to his Yes days with a take on the hit “Owner of a Lonely Heart” that sounded as fresh as it must have forty years ago and contained a gloriously ripping guitar solo from Mat Dauzat. Considering that this tour technically marked the first time The Buggles have ever been on the road and that co-founder Geoffrey Downes was not a part of it, the band managed to put on a performance that surely left the audience craving a deeper dive into their work.
One could easily have written off Seal’s performance as a journey through 90s nostalgia, but nostalgia was only one piece of the equation. Instead, he gave his fans an eloquent reflection on the kind of career most artists can only dream of. This started with the opening montage of clips honoring the artist that was slightly funny in its bold, ego-centric presentation but also included a handful of self-deprecating clips. With the proper level of anticipation now in place, the curtain dropped and Seal appeared with arms raised high as the band launched straight into the infectious soul-pop of “Crazy.” From that point on, Seal’s performance was as much a concert as it was the kind of sermon you might observe in a megachurch or a tent revival. This feeling was manifested in the passionate folk of “Deep Water” that found Seal wielding a guitar, the dramatic swelling and chorus of “Future Love Paradise,” and the dreamy synths washing over the crowd during the gliding R&B number “Violet.” But it was the second half of the set that found Seal and his band ratcheting up the energy and emotion, strutting the stage and air guitaring next to Dauzat during the soaring anthem “Bring It On,” the revelatory infectiousness of “Prayer for the Dying” amplified by Seal singing it while eye-to-eye with fans, and the heavy emotional impact of “Don’t Cry” pulling at the collective heartstrings of the audience to make for one of the most impressive musical moments of the night.
In recent years, Seal has followed the path of many crooners as he has gravitated towards standards and less adventurous fare. This is something of a rite of passage for an accomplished singer in his later years, but his performance in Portland was anything but a run through the oldies. His desire to bring the audience something more dynamic and intimate than a greatest hits romp was made clear when he waded into the audience on the house-meets-pop number “Killer” while clutching hands, singing into a paparazzi-like wall of phone cameras, and climbing over seats. This culminated when he reached the middle of the audience and took on the role of maestro-meets-healer-meets-preacher as he led his fans through the introduction to his best-known tune “Kiss From a Rose.” This was Seal at his finest, connecting directly with the audience and breathing new life into a thirty-year-old song. There was no way to end on such a high without bringing everyone back down to earth, which is what happened when Seal returned to the stage to encore with the disco dance of “Get It Together” and the feel-good soul of “Love’s Divine” to send the audience off with a sense of having achieved spiritual enlightenment.