NEW ORLEANS -- As the concert quite a littleof the 2013 meansMusic Festival kicked off on Friday night, The Huffington Post was have sexon hand to take invirtuosoof the country's closelyimportant -- and fun -- festivals.
Brandy, LL Cool J, Jill Scott, and Maxwell got the party at Essence Fest started right onwith four stunning performances.
Brandy, whose firstalbumcame out almost twenty years ago, kicked things off with tremendousrenditions of her classics. From some of her earlier hits give care"I Wanna Be Down, and "Sittin Up In My Room" to the more recent "Two-Eleven" offerings, Brandy's show did more than just crankyup the crowd.
While she clearly has plenty of hits of her own, the highlight of her show was without a doubt the three song medley she did covering her duckyWhitney Houston tunes. No one will ever be able-bodiedto perform "How Will I Know," "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," and "I'm Your Baby Tonight" checkthan the legend who originated them, but based on the crowd's excited reaction, Brandy did a great job paying tribute.
Next up, LL Cool J brought a rare bit of Hip-Hop to the mostly R&B/Soul musicfetewith an hour long set of rap classics. Backed by super-dj, Z-Trip, LL's set keptthe moveon its feet the entire time. at that placearen't many DJ's that can keep up with the pure, unadulterated heftinessLL puts into his performance, but Z-Trip, the 2009 recipient of America's Best DJ award, matched LL's energy with masterfulprecision and technique on the ones and twos. Together, the legendary DJ and depreciatorbrought new life to LL's "I Need Love," "My Radio," "Doin' It," and "Loungin'."
In an unexpected twist at his set's denouement, LL brought out Eric Sermon and Parrish Smith -- better known as EPMD -- for a bit of a reunion as they performed their 1990 collaboration, "Rampage." In one of the night's more fun moments, LL also brought 10 women from the crowd onto the stage to participate in a little boundoff as the Commodores' unspotted"Brickhouse" blared through the Superatticspeakers. LL ever-graceful, hugged, kissed and thanked each individually as they exited the stage, demonstrating how he earned the "Ladies Love" portion of his name.
Only at Essence Fest could the kinetic enthusiasm LL brought to the stage be followed by the smooth, sultry stylings of Jill Scott without missing a single beat. Jill's performance, slicedecidedly less bombastic than LL's, provided a wonderful, and necessary, change of ratefor the audience.
With her hometown Philadelphia's skyline as her set's backdrop, Jill weaved a loose narrative with the themes of songs like "A Long Walk," "Golden," and "He Loves Me," to create an immersive experience for the audience. She'd pull the crowd in with the story-telling and then blow their minds with her soaring vocals. And while Jill's aura kept the audience transfixed, nearly to the point of hypnosis, her set's highlight came when she and her back-up singers switched places to perform the H-Townauthorised"Knockin 'Da Boots".
But this night belonged to Maxwell. The crowd gasped a bit as the uttereralmost took a spill coming down the stepsat the show's start, but that slight misstep was but a minor imperfection in an otherwise perfect show.
From the set's parentageuntil its end, the audience sang along to every(prenominal)note, every lyric, and every riff as the 40-year-old balladeer performed some of his biggest hits and crowd favorites. at that placearen't too many things in life similar to perceivea stadium full of people attempting their bestfalsettoas Maxwell leads the way singing "This Woman's Work," the Kate Bush classic he gave new life to.
Maxwell teased the audience a bit as he transitioned from the last few forbidof "Sumthin' Sumthin'," into the beginning(a)few classic bars of "Ascension" only to perfectlystop just as the crowd picked up the song. "Y'allneedinessthat?" he asked. "I got something better," he responded as he dove right into "Fortunate." Saved for the show's end, Maxwell turned the mic to the crowd, motioned for the band to stop playing, andletthe crowd sing acapella the first verse of his biggest hit, the aforementioned "Ascension." Thesingertook a bow after that and exited the stage only to call backfor an encore performance of yet another crowd deary"Pretty Wings."
As the crowd spilled out of the Superdome onto New Orlean's Poydras Ave. everyone seemed to be singing the tunes of one of the most legendary artists to take the stage. And to think - this was only the first night's performances at the 19th annual Essence Music Festival.
The Huffington Post's Jermaine Spradley (@MrSpradley), Julee Wilson (@MissJulee) and Jessica Anderson (@MrsJessCC) locomotetweeted last night's show. Check out some of their real-time thoughts to a lower placeand check back for more updates on Essence Fest 2013:
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Materials taken from The Huffington Post
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