(August 17, 2015) Brimming with sass, sexual entendres and psychedelic fabulousness, Jill Scott regaled her sellout crowd of thousands when she brought her “Woman” tour to Dallas on Friday night.

Backed by a 6-piece band, three male background vocalists (one of them being Dallas native Deonis Cook) and an ever-shifting digitalized lighting screen that reflected the mood of every song, “Jilly From Philly” took center stage rocking a curly frohawk, a multi-colored pantsuit, platform wedges (that were kicked off right after her opening number, “Give Me,) and the air of a goddess.

In just under 2 hours, she took the audience through favorites from her lauded 15-year-catalog, earning shouts of “SANG it Jill!” and “We LOVE YOOOOOU!” as she delivered retooled renditions of “The Way,” “A Long Walk,” “Golden” and dispensed plenty of wisdom and wickedness along the way. Before thanking fans for her success, Jill peppered her newer songs with some a cappella (“Closure”), homespun self-discovery (“Prepared”) and often turned her vocals, as well as her mic, into sexual pantomines and simulations that sent her male fans into a frenzy. She cautioned the ladies to use mind over matter and not let their girl parts get them off-track (“Cross My Mind”) while inciting laughter with ad-libs with the worshipful “Whatever” (“I’ll sleep next to a toilet on the Greyhound bus, let your babymama spend the night, it’s that good! Don’t get that caught up and ‘d****atized.”). Her standout performance of “He Loves Me” took collective breaths away when she added a heady operatic aria to the groove.

Earlier in the night, opening act Tish Hyman impressed and earned followers for her throaty, soul blues and hip-hop mix of songs. Flush with gratitude and candid about her life and artistic struggle, the Bronx native made her songs soar, sharing pain in “I Don’t Wanna Go Home For Christmas,” “Dream” and her now-available single, the glimpse-into-society ode “Subway Art.” Hyman’s ability to laugh at her growing success and still get choked up while songing her heart out is why her debut should be anticipated in the year to come.

By Melody Charles