Jill Scott LIVE.

Like most people, I was first introduced to Jill Scott via her hit single “A Long Walk,” in 2000. However, that was the extent of my Jill Scott knowledge until the release of 2007’s The Real Thing. I was a senior in high school and my best friend recommended that I listen to it, and I’ve been hooked on Ms. Scott ever since.

Over the years, Jill has released several live concert DVDs and accompanying albums. Truth be told, her live albums usually render their parent studio albums irrelevant. I mean… who wants to listen to the studio version when you can listen to Jill slay the same song live with a full band behind her?

However, my first time seeing her live, in person, was almost exactly two years ago, in July 2015, also at Kings Theatre. Wednesday night’s show was my third time seeing her live, and it was my favorite thus far. Let me tell you why.

Jill Scott Live: LOVE.

One of my favorite things about Jill Scott’s live shows is that will throw in random album tracks that were not hits, not specifically popular and that most casual fans probably won’t know. Yet, she’ll do it anyway. This time, she opened her set with “Be Ready,” a bonus track on her first live album.

From there, Jill bopped her way along through some of her big songs, like “Golden.” This brings me to one of my other favorite things about Jill Scott live: she will always bring you a fresh, new arrangement. This time, “Golden” had a whole lot more horns added. She made it a bit more funktified, and I got my life.

Jill Scott Live: SEX.

It wasn’t long before the show took a turn toward the naughty and nasty, set off by her 2004 classic “Whatever,” from Beautifully Human. She moved through a series of some of her most sensual songs, such as “Crown Royal” from The Real Thing, “Making You Wait” from 2011’s The Light of the Sun and “Can’t Wait” from 2015’s Woman. During “Making You Wait,” which is about making her potential boo wait until the fifth date, she joked, “you think you slick coming in here with them sweatpants on. I CAN SEE IT.” Jill ain’t never lied. We all know about eggplants and sweatpants.

Next, Jill spoke to the straight men (and, I suppose, the gay tops) in the crowd saying, “I can almost guarantee you gon’ get some tonight. You’re welcome! Maybe even on the way home, in the car… Just make sure that on the 5th stroke, you think of me, like ‘Thanks Jill!'” The crowd erupted into applause and laughter, but she wasn’t done. “Crown Royal,” understandably so, was the… well, climax, of the whole movement though.

Jill Scott Live: DICK.

After the lyric in “Crown Royal” where she so gleefully sings, “and you’re so thick, so thick…” she took a moment to pause the song for a quick shout out. She proceeded to shout out “all the big dicks,” giving an impassioned round of applause, yelling for everyone to give it up for all the big dicks. Y’all. I died. Like, actually died. How can you NOT love her? She has zero filter and is just so damn real. Like, yes, girl, let them know how you really feel. Jill has so much class, though, it still manages to somehow feel tactful. Well, almost. She went on to simulate giving oral sex to the microphone and it was hilariously raunchy… and that’s fine. It was glorious. I hope the ladies and the gays took note.

Jill Scott Live: POLITICS.

Jill also took some time to get political, with a performance of “My Petition,” a song from her 2004 album, Beautifully Human. The song is an allegory written to express her grievances to the government back in 2004… the George W. Bush years. Before performing it, she explained that she thought more people would listen if she wrote a love song to the government, and talked about reading the Constitution to add some of the very obvious allusions that exist in the song. While performing it, she played a slideshow of Black men and women who had been killed by police in America. It was emotional to see the faces of these men and women, such as Sandra Bland, Eric Garner and Philando Castile, as she sang this particular song.

Afterward, she launched into another politically charged song, where she sang, “Oh say can you see by the blood in the streets … this is not the land of the free, but the home of the slave.”  Finally, she went on to speak further about the topic, touching on immigration and the injustices against Black people in America. She encouraged the audience to work together to make a change, stressing the importance of unity.

Jill Scott Live: VOCALS.

Other highlights of the show were a personal favorite of mine, “Cross My Mind,” which never fails to send me through my feelings, the classic “The Way,” the electrifying “Hate On Me,” and the iconic showcase that is “He Loves Me.” Jill never fails to deliver vocally, and these songs always deliver are some of her best moments.

She closed the show by showing off, as she always does, with her performance of “He Loves Me.” It’s always funny to see people leave early at shows when the artist does a fake-out. The blackout and silence before “He Loves Me” was the second fake-out Jill pulled in her set; but I knew very well that she would be back. Jill simply would not put on a show without slaying perhaps her signature song: “He Loves Me.” And slay she did, hitting operatic high notes, sliding through soulful runs and riffs.

In short, seeing Jill Scott live is wholistic experience. She will send you through all of the feels associated with love and life. She does it with class, brash realness and immense talent. Get your tickets, and get your life.

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Northside Festival

I’ll admit, I have been living in New York all my life and New York City, on and off, since 2010, and I had never heard of the Northside Festival in Williamsburg. That changed this year when I learned that Miguel was performing there. Immediately, I scooped up a ticket to go see bae perform live again. The last time I saw him, on his Wildheart Tour, he crowd surfed and I touched his skin and I melted.

Sorry. Forgive my thirst. Anyway, Northside is a festival in, as its name implies, the North Side of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. This year marked its 9th year, and while I can’t speak for its lineups in the past, it offers an eclectic mix of performers from a variety of genres. Regrettably, due to a series of unfortunate responsibilities at my day job, I was not able to attend more of the festival. However, it is more than just a music festival. Northside also hosts a series of “Innovator” talks, featuring panel speakers from all areas of the media. The festival takes over 30+ venues in the Williamsburg area, and essentially consumes the Hipster capital of the world with its presence. It’s a pretty big deal.

I’ll be frank. The only artists on the Northside lineup that I knew were Miguel, his opening act, B.J. the Chicago Kid, and Hip-Hop legend DJ Kool Herc. While I was seriously hoping to hop around the festival all week and discover some new talent, my schedule just did not allow it (I even missed Kool Herc!). However, luckily enough I was able to catch Miguel and his openers, Saro and the aforementioned B.J. the Chicago Kid.

The Opening Acts

Saro kicked off the night with a set of his experimental R&B, captivating the crowd with his foliage-adorned mic-stand and attention grabbing vocals. He was certainly talented, and the songs he performed showed great potential. While he definitely caught my attention momentarily with a few of the songs, I wish the set was a bit more lively and perhaps featured a cover that would have engaged the crowd a bit more than he was able to.

Speaking of covers, B.J. the Chicago Kid gave me my whole life when he broke into a cover of 1997’s own “Nice & Slow” by Usher. He was apparently feeling like having a whole Usher moment, because he ended up mixing it with “Superstar” from the Confessions album as well. While I didn’t know any of his material, the covers did it for me. Not to mention, he killed it vocally and had a whole lot of stage presence.

The Main Attraction: Miguel

My body was more than ready for Miguel to take the stage. To be honest, looking over the rest of Northside’s lineup, I wondered where Miguel fit in as an R&B act on a major label. As far as I could tell, the majority of Northside’s other acts were independent and not crossover friendly like Miguel. Well, Miguel proved himself to be more than suited for the festival, embodying the essence of Williamsburg, Brooklyn quite perfectly.

Miguel has a song called “What’s Normal Anyway?” where he questions society’s expectations of us, of what it is to be normal in regards to his being from a mixed ethnic background. Much to my own dismay, he didn’t perform the song at Northside. However, he certainly perpetuated his message that uniqueness should be celebrated. Donning a brightly colored map-shirt and tight, eggplant-purple pants, Miguel gave zero fucks about anyone’s judgements. He blew his way through a setlist that fused R&B, funk, Hip-Hop and rock and roll. Miguel’s setlist and sound fit Williamsburg perfectly. It was as if someone took a local Williamsburg resident’s vinyl collection, put it in a blender, and poured it out onto the stage (with some kale, almond milk, and vegan, gluten-free protein mixed in for good measure).

Indeed, Miguel was a big enough name to garner Northside some extra attention, without selling out. Miguel perfectly aligned himself with the vibe and the essence of the festival and its host neighborhood. He delivered an excellent show, and even greeted fans with enthusiasm after the show, in front of his hippy 1960s tour bus.

Check out video of Miguel performing at Northside on our Facebook page.

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Dear Las Vegas, et. al,

Before fellow Mother/Divas Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and others perched themselves in Las Vegas to earn some coin and build their legacies, Toni Braxton was there – in 2006. Unfortunately, her stint was cut short due to medical issues and being incapable of performing. Since then, Toni has released two albums and performed countless concerts around the world, cementing her status as one of R&B’s iconic figures.

Last night, I was fortunate enough to attend my fourth Toni Braxton concert. I’m going to keep it short and sweet (like her set’s run time, honeyyyy…) and say simply that Toni never fails to put on an entertaining show; packed with hits and great vocals. However, the reason that I say Las Vegas should be begging Toni to do another residency is because she is such a humble and engaging performer – and that is perhaps something she picked up in Vegas. I have never been to a more interactive show than one of Toni’s – and she’s done this every time.

She invited a man on stage to sing with her for the Babyface duet “Hurt You,” invited two moms and a hipster up for a sing-a-long to “Another Sad Love Song,” brought an adorable elderly man on stage and sat on his lap for giggles, and then closed the show with “You’re Makin’ Me High” joined by 12 moms from the audience, dancing and singing along. Not only that, but for “Breathe Again,” she spent a good four minutes walking through the crowd and taking photos with fans. She even sat in their seats for the photo ops. It was hilariously adorable. This is the perfect sort of show for Las Vegas and would be sure to attract concertgoers there.

Or hell, why does it have to be Las Vegas? Other venues elsewhere have started doing residencies, too. The Beacon Theatre in New York hosts Mariah Carey for a Christmas residency, and Madison Square Garden has a long running Billy Joel residency going on. Surely, it might be happening elsewhere, too. Someone, for crying out loud, give Toni a residency SOMEWHERE. You are missing out on a prime opportunity.

If not, I hope Toni embarks on a proper tour and soon. I was wishing so badly to be down in the orchestra for a chance to take a photo or run on stage with Toni.

All of that aside, it was a wonderful show musically, too. Toni pulled out the classics (and slayed them) and even a rarity like “Shadowless,” which she dedicated to a fan she met in her “favorite store” HomeGoods. Said fan told Toni that the song helped her cope with her husband being away in the military. A touching sentiment, Toni dedicated the song to that fan and all men and women in the service. As well, perhaps to show some love to Brooklyn’s own Biggie, she busted out a few bars of “Big Poppa” after faking us out with a “Between the Sheets” cover. For videos of that, “Shadowless,” and more, hop over to our Facebook page (and make sure you Like us!). Check out the concert setlist below:

1. How Many Ways*
2. Seven Whole Days*
3. You Mean the World to Me
4. Another Sad Love Song*
5. Just Be a Man About It*
6. How Could an Angel Break My Heart
7. Shadowless*
8. Spanish Guitar
9. Un-break My Heart*
10. He Wasn’t Man Enough*
11. Between the Sheets/Big Poppa*
12. I Love Me Some Him (I think; I can’t remember where it went, it was super short)
13. Hurt You
14. Let It Flow*
15. Breathe Again
16. You’re Makin’ Me High*

*Denotes a video on our Facebook page!

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