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| @iam.mrqs |
Last night was mad real! VEVO put on their Vevo dcsvr show, a new showcase that presents dope upcoming artists. Luckily, my friend and I went to this free, yes free, promotional event. I was able to see Kiah Victoria, Jorja Smith, AJ Tracey and 070 Shake. While I have fair critiques of the event, I had an overall great experience and would go again.
We arrived early enough to be near the front of the line. Upon entering the stage to our right, open bar to our left, and literature straight ahead. We claimed our spots on the left side front stage, then went and got red wine and reclaimed our spots. DJ Austin came with the jams, serving 2000s trap and letting 6th grade Becky flourish! Yesjulz hosted the event; she works with VEVO and also manages A$AP Mob which is pretty cool. Her get up was fire she was working her body which is amazing! She knew like all the words to all the songs, was dancing in the crowd, and really trying to show love to everyone; she did an excellent job.
I only came expecting to be taken away by 070 and 070 Shake, but to my delight the first act gained herself a new fan! Let me tell you about Kiah Victoria! She's a gorgeous young woman with amazing heartbreak songs and the pipes to make her words resonate. Her outfit fit her warm and loving personality, especially her plaid platform pants; like come through 70s vibes! Kiah Victoria's performance was the first I've witnessed where the performer had one of those voice synchronizing machine boards (clearly I have no idea what they're called; tell me below?). It was really cool seeing her go back and forth with the morphed sound and raw vocals. And let's not forget to mention hair goals with a her luscious bodied curls!
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| Kiah Victoria |
Jorja Smith came on after next and did not disappoint. She has gorgeous vocals and so much 90s swag I just wanted to buy a crushed velvet sweat suit all over again. We even had a moment because I kept smiling in awe at her and she smiled back giving me a nod. I felt like that was her thank you for your energy. Whatever it was it made me feel good. It was her first show in the US and what an honor to be a part of that process. She even had a featured artist come on stage for her song and they were like English angels in my ears. Unfortunately, on her last song of the night the sound starting messing up. I'm not entirely sure what went haywire, but I could start to hear everything get off beat. Things were bad enough for Jorja Smith to put the mic up and rush off the stage. I felt bad she had to experience that after being so amazing to the crowd.
Vevo dscvr's sound was a constant situation throughout the night. Kiah Victoria made sure to get that all figured out before she started her set, as she kept asking us "do I need to be turned up?" She really shouldn't have had to but regardless major props to her. Then the sound on stage starts messing up and you have an artists who is so bothered she left the stage in a fury. And for the next act no one in the crowd even hears him. Why are three our the four artist having sound issues? This was unacceptable and I hope Vevo dscvr is much more preventative in the future.
AJ Tracey was third in the lineup and had the worst experience with their sound if you ask me. He went through an entire song sounding muffled to the crowd. While I do give him props for continuing the song, I don't give him props as a performing artist. Everything about him was off-lackluster rather. He wore this over the top Slayer sweat suit that didn't fit his persona, or lack of one, at all. He had these box braids or twists happening that didn't suit him and he kept saying "you get me". He lacked stage presence even before his sound was messing up. The crowd was so dead when he was on; everyone was on their phones or looking like "is this for real?" It was just upsetting seeing a performer half ass when there's so many fresh artist who will give the crowd a show; they'll put their all into that slot knowing every instance counts. I don't believe his music career will flourish if that's how he functions. It almost seems like he doesn't take music seriously. He even announced one of his songs adding "this is the track that sort of got me [famous]". However, Yesjulz said his parents both worked in music; so maybe he has plugs and is taking advantage of it. Quite a shame really.
And alas! 070 Shake is on stage, starting with the ever so aesthetically pleasing Ralphy River. When I tell you he is everything, I'm telling you he is queer, masculine and The Feminine Divine and beyond! While he is clearly my favorite the whole crew was care free and just dope. 070 is a rock star and introvert. She would dap the fans but rarely look at us. It seemed when she was becoming more vulnerable she'd put her shades on. she wore a metallic jacket and pants that was so Michael Jackson and it was glorious. "I just want to have fun with you all tonight" was what she told us after they performed Precious Pressure, and her following acts would prove she meant it. I must say the biggest moment for me was when they performed Honey. Though when she sang " I don't want to exist; I want to live", I could here her experiences of being othered release from her. Her mic flips were dope and she was just giving it to us. Major props to their guitarist and drummer too.
070 Shake was literally just having fun. There were also members in the crowd who ended up hitting the stage which surprised us regulars. Apparently I was rude to one who tried to stand in front of me but we won't talk much about that!
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| 070 Shake with hidden members in the audience |
All in all Vevo dscvr was an amazing show. I know this was their first show with this setup, so they had kinks to work out, but I still was pretty bumped about the sound and AJ Tracey. But would I go again? Absolutely. The objection behind this project is commendable and I am very excited to see where they take this.
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