Lauryn Hill Is A Lost One At Her Comeback Show In Oakland

Last night’s Lauryn Hill concert in Oakland–for which an orchestra seat cost $90–had concertgoers waiting around for an hour after the opening band finished, and according to reports from people in attendance, it only got worse from there:

Once Hill finally made her appearance, fronting a solid 14-piece band that deserved far better than this, things began to quickly unravel. She opened with a jammed-out, improvised number that featured almost no real lyrics and zapped whatever little wind remained in the crowd’s sails.

The 32-year-old vocalist then turned to 1998’s landmark “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” — a work that, amazingly, still stands as her most recent studio effort — for a garbled version of “Lost Ones.” Her voice was terrible, so harsh, strained and unlike what one hears on the masterful “Miseducation” CD. She also sounded like she’s out of shape, huffing and puffing like a weekend warrior after only a few songs.

But it wasn’t just her voice that was shaky. Hill stumbled about the stage and, at one point, actually fell flat on her back _ which brought into question exactly what the singer had been doing backstage during the long delay.

Of course, Hill would find that question ludicrous. She blamed her stage fall on her high heels and, later in the show, took the time to assure the crowd that she was sober.

There’s more at the link, including a call for Hill to retire and a lot of attempts to use the oh-so-obvious “Mis[fill-in-the-blank] of Lauryn Hill] pun; MissInfo.TV also has an e-mail from a reader in which Hill’s appearance is described as such:

She had that make-up on like a bag lady, like cake face with reds and blues.

Which probably isn’t the best way to stoke buzz for her upcoming album.

The Misadventures Of Lauryn Hill [Inside Bay Area, via MissInfo.TV]