Holiday Cooldown Takes Awhile to Thaw

Like the many other radio-sponsored Christmas shows taking place this week, KKBT the Beat’s Holiday Cooldown on Wednesday at the Universal Amphitheatre was a curious phenomenon. Aside from the fact that the proceeds went to a good cause--this year it was the Jenesse Center, an empowerment program for victims of domestic abuse--the vibe in the amphitheater was hardly bursting with holiday cheer. The eighth annual Holiday Cooldown wasn’t about celebrating goodwill toward men; this was about a radio station’s goodwill toward grateful artists.

It went down like this: Host Toni Braxton (who appeared in a succession of fetching costumes between sets) and a DJ from the rap and R&B; radio station (100.3 FM) introduced an act, which then played to a crowd that seemed bored by everything except the artist’s radio hit.

Opener Musiq was handed the merciless task of playing to a half-empty house, but acquitted himself nicely with a short set of funked-up come-ons. Tamia appeared to lip-sync her opening dance number, then settled into a few ballads that showcased her swooping range. Avant, Dave Hollister, Carl Thomas and Jagged Edge supplied an overload of testosterone.

But just when it appeared as if the Cooldown had completely cooled off, Erykah Badu made the evening her own. Looking like a spectral Nefertiti, Badu bedazzled with a set that mixed funk, hip-hop and jazz into a mesmerizing incantation of female self-affirmation. Clanking cowbells, striking tai chi poses, freestyling raps, Badu was to the rest of the bill what Tiger Woods is to weekend golfers.