Solo

I love being a little sister.  There’s nothing greater than having an older version of yourself to guide you through life (at least that’s how I view the relationship).  It’s for that reason that I’ve always been perplexed by the way people react to fellow younger sis, Solange Knowles.  It seems people always pity her for who her older sister is or make fun of her for not being the same person.  I for one am a fan of the quirky, seemingly free-spirited and fashion minded singer and was happy for the chance to see her in concert after her lengthy musical hiatus.

Knowing the venue, I opted for a comfort friendly outfit, deciding against heels and instead choosing to dress up these sneakers first seen here. Turned out to be a wise decision.

{My View}

{My concert mates who decided to wear heels — someone ended up w/ a floor seat}

I thought the show was good.  The crowd was energetic and full of some obviously devoted fans.  Plus her multi patterned suit and big hair were both super cute.  She’s no Beyonce.  And she shouldn’t be.  She’s Solange. A younger sister who I get the feeling, like me, really likes her spot in life.

Music Matters Tour

Let me start this post by saying my Dad is cooler than yours.  And thank goodness for that because I really needed someone to go to the BET Music Matters concert with me this past weekend.  Saturday after I got off work we headed over to Atlanta for the show featuring a favorite of mine, Kendrick Lamar.

I was determined to go to this show because it had a solid line-up.  Kendrick’s TDE labelmates, Jay Rock and Ab-Soul joined him on tour and Ohio native and MMG artist, Stalley, rounded out the list of performers.  I’m a Stalley fan and missed him the last time he was in town so I was really looking forward to catching him this time around.  Unfortunately, I was let down.  The crowd wasn’t really into his set which probably contributed to what felt like a lack of energy in his performance.   He never seemed to get into a good rhythm on stage.  Plus, his DJs equipment failed for about 3 minutes resulting  in Stalley standing aimlessly on stage inciting the crowd to boo his own DJ.

To be expected, the energy the crowd gave Kendrick when he hit the stage was crazy.  I’ve seen the response before about a year ago at the last Kendrick show I went to but it still amazed me.  It felt like everyone in the room knew every word to every song.  He performed several hits and also gave the audience a 30 second sneak peak to two songs from his upcoming album.  Both sounded really nice.

The biggest benefit to going to this show, however, was my introduction to Ab-Soul.  He was a definitely in 2nd place as crowd favorite next to Kendrick.  His bouncy stage presence and hippy demeanor coupled with the solid production and lyrical content of his music intrigued me.  Now, 4 days after the show, he’s pretty much dominating my Ipod.

Best of and Brother Ali

Thursday Birmingham Magazine hosted it’s Best of Birmingham Party at Railroad park.  The event celebrates a variety of businesses and people that voters decided are at the top of their industry.  Best new restaurant winner, Little Donkey, provided the food.  There was also free beer and live music from band, Gentleman Zero.

{Brisket Taco, black beans, and pickled veggies}

{Gentleman Zero}

{Railroad Park sunset}

Later Thursday evening I begrudgingly accompanied my father to Bottletree for the ‘Mourning in America’ tour.  I wasn’t particularly excited about attending the show, headlined by Brother Ali who I had never heard of before.  I think part of the reason was that the image used on the concert promo posters and his album cover gave me the idea that his music might be a little heavy handed and “preachy”.

I was  pleasantly surprised.  The rapper had live instruments (trombone, trumpet, and banjo!) which automatically took the show up a few notches and simply made every song sound really good.  Lyrically, Ali was strong and had nice delivery.  Definitely glad I went.

Night Lights

I’m writing this under the influence of half a bottle of 5 hour energy.  Which means I have 2.5 hours to work with so let me be quick about this.  My need for an AM jolt is the result of a house party I attended Thursday night in Crestwood.

This was no run of the mill house party. The gathering was centered around chamber folk trio, The Rebecca West.  When the sun set, the group performed in the sprawling backyard with  just two acoustic guitars.

Lights were strung throughout the tress in the lush garden, creating a beautiful setting for the groups intimate performance.

I was invited to the party by my former classmate Meghan who now lives in New York, works for Gotham Magazine, and freelance fashion writes.  Love her shorts!