Live Review: Alicia Keys at Ruby Skye, 12/17/07

Live Review: Alicia Keys at Ruby Skye, 12/17/07

Alicia Keys lets fans in for a close-up but turns energy down too low: Aidin Vaziri | Flanked by a full live band and a pair of gigantic, oddly shaped trees, the Grammy-winning songwriter bound out waving her arms and twirling her hair in time with the slap-bass-heavy soundtrack. The well-lubricated audience seemed to appreciate the gesture, especially the part where she stopped the music and announced, "The whole Bay Area is one of my favorite places in the world!" Taking her place behind a stand-up keyboard, the classically trained pianist dipped into her back catalog with an eloquent reading of "A Woman's Worth," reminding the crowd why they keep giving her Grammys and Bob Dylan felt it necessary to send her a shout-out on his most recent album. All slow-motion soul with just a touch of drama, the song had everyone singing along until Keys abruptly decided to smush it into a medley that included a big chunk of "Unbreakable," an oddity from her "MTV Unplugged" album, that somehow worked its way into "Teenage Love Affair," a song from the latest release in which she mainlines the Jackson Five with just about all the required maturity: "Hey boy/ You know I really like being with you/ Just hanging out is fine/ So maybe we can go to first base." Continue reading.