When the Hustle Hard Tour 07 made a stop here in Norfolk, blessed with unseasonably warm weather on an otherwise nondescript Tuesday, it signaled a breakthrough in the local urban live music scene. Though Hampton Roads has been dubbed in recent years, "the new Motown" by newspapers like , the truth is that there is little in the mode of a thriving soul music scene here locally. Our superstar urban acts spend as much time, if not more, in places like Miami and New York City, than they do in Hampton Roads.
Of course chasing big city dreams entails travel, clearly, but near abandonment? Thankfully there are artists like the Fuzz Band, who continue to contribute to the local urban music scene via Fuzzy Wednesdays, as well as show producers like Tracy Freeman, founder of On the Verge, a website and internet radio property, that serve as tastemakers for all forms of black-rooted music. OTV sponsored the Tuesday show, which featured indie soul stand-outs, Choklate and Peter Hadar.
The show got underway around 9:45 p.m., with a very brief set by the Fuzz Band.
As usual, they gave a spirited and energetic set, concluding with their raucous anthem, "Chocolate City." And as usual, the packed house of college students and buppies ate up everything that the band musically served that night. So then came tour opener Peter Hadar, outfitted in a Led Zeppelin tee and a simple, yet crisp, pair of blue jeans.
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