Former Fresh Prince Star Performs

Last night, the House of Blues traded its usual bluegrass and jazz fare for something a bit more synthetic. Wearing shiny plastic pants and using dubbed background singers, Tatyana M. Ali '02 presented a hip-hop alternative to the House's traditional Delta blues for a crowd of over 200 fans.

Boston radio station WJMN-FM, 94.5, had promoted Ali's performance for more than a month before last night's show. Tickets were distributed to radio station callers during the weeks before the event.

"According to the radio station, the response to Tatyana's performance was amazing," said Patricia Bok, vice-president of MJJ records, Ali's record label. MJJ is a subsidiary of Sony Music, owned by pop star Michael Jackson.

"All 260 people that were given tickets picked them up from the station, and that is usually unheard of," Bok said.

The audience that received the complimentary tickets ranged in age from toddlers accompanying parents to middle-aged men and women. Also attending the performance were Ali's mother and Boston Celtics player Walter McCarty.

Though the event was scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m., Ali began her performance after 7:15 p.m. But before Ali sang, Compound Entertainment took the stage.

Compound Entertainment is a 6-member performance group whose routine included dancing, lip-synching and rapping.

Immediately after Compound Entertainment's performance, Ali took the stage with microphone in hand to begin her three-song set, which included her hits "Daydreamin" and "Boy You Knock Me Out."

Before performing "Daydreamin," Ali spoke to her audience to enthuse and motivate them for the next number.

"Did you feel that song? I want you all to put your hands in the air!" she said as she took off her jacket and was joined by four dancers to perform with her on stage.

During "Daydreamin," Ali and the performers danced during the musical interlude when Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz rap in the song's radio version.

Before her last song, Ali again addressed her audience as she bent down to reach out to touch her fans' outstretched hands.

During Ali's closing number, "Boy You Knock Me Out," her microphone disconnected, but the audience gladly chimed in for the last 20 seconds of the song.

Ali closed the show first by thanking her audience for coming, then giving a "shout-out" to her Weld Hall roommates, and then by thanking her mother. Immediately after the 15-minute performance, Ali spent the next hour autographing CDs, posters and tickets.

Audience members said they enjoyed Ali's performance, especially appreciating her "sweetness" and "down-to-earth" personality.

"She did a great job and was cute on stage," said 21-year-old Mae M. Hallak of Boston. "When her microphone stopped working and she couldn't talk, she handled it well. Things like that happen, and she didn't try to act too much like a professional about it."

Other fans admired Ali for reasons besides her singing and acting talents.

"I think it's great that Tatyana is going to college, and especially one like Harvard," said 24-year-old Archer P. Batravil. "Most musicians and athletes never get an education, and then they never have anything to fall back on."

Ayana E. Johnson '02, who lives next door to Ali and was one of her "shout-outs," said she was excited to see her close friend perform.

"She did an awesome job but it was the same as when we dance together in our rooms," she said.

Probably the most disappointing aspect of the show was that the fans thought it was all too short.

"She only performed three songs, and I was hoping that the show would be at least three times as long," said 27-year-old Justin C. Corrigan of Dorchester.

But for pre-teen attendees Andy P. Scott, Chris M. White and Eamon M. White, their first concert experience was "awesome" anyway.

"We not only got to see Tatyana Ali perform, but we got to talk to her too," White said. "If this is how great concerts are, then I can't wait to go to my next one."

Those in charge of the show said that the intimate setting of the House of Blues--far smaller than many clubs--was selected deliberately for this performance.

"I chose the House of Blues because I wanted a location with a limited occupancy," said "Cadillac Jack," Ali's performance manager. "And I wanted the show to be intimate enough so that fans will look back and remember seeing Tatyana Ali at a small show back in '99."

Ali will take a leave of absence from Harvard next semester to rehearse and perform with the musical group 'N Sync. Ali was invited by the five-member "boy group" to open for them on a 50-city show.

"It was an honor to be asked by N Sync to perform with them--especially because they are going to be able to sell out their shows on their own," Ali said.

Ali and 'N Sync are scheduled to perform in Boston at the Fleet Center on March 16.