GIG REVIEW: Cleo Sol At YoYo

Last Thursday night saw UK songstress Cleo Sol grace the stage of the Notting Hill Arts Club as she headlined the venue's weekly event YoYo in support of her forthcoming single, 'High'.

The stage was opened by Birmingham rapper, Lady Leshurr, who performed 4 songs including Chris Brown's 'Look At Me Now' and her new single '#LEGO'. Seeming somewhat deenergised, Leshurr let the crowd know that she felt that this was her worst performance as she was sick and had hardly any space to move around on the stage.

Shortly after Leshurr's departure, Cleo took to the stage looking absolutely stunning in a pair of black high-waisted shorts with a matching crop top and waistcoat. Performing with a live band, the singer worked the crowd as she effortlessly delivered tracks, such as 'Free My Mind' and new single 'High', impressing the entire audience with the strength of her vocals.

The only negative for the night was that Cleo wasn't on stage for longer! 4 tracks for a headlining performance was a bit disappointing.

Other than that, a really enjoyable night!

Cleo's new single, 'High', is due out for release on September 25th. Preorder it on iTunes now!

GIG REVIEW: Melanie Fiona At The Luminaire, London

Monday night saw the UK welcome back to its shores the incredible talent that is Melanie Fiona. Following her first ever headlining show in London at the Jazz Café back in July, the Canadian songstress returned to grace another London stage; this time at The Luminaire.

Melanie performed tracks from her critically acclaimed debut album The Bridge such as Sad Songs and Give it to Me Right, opening the show with one of the more recent tracks, Ay Yo. After successfully amping the crowd, the singer decided to get a bit more comfortable taking off her jacket and hat for a more intimate session with her audience.

Paying homage to the late Bob Marley, Melanie performed one of his classics, Every Little Thing is Gonna Be Alright, encouraging the audience to sing along with her, much to their delight!

Speaking of her forthcoming album, The MF Life, she even gave fans an exclusive performance of a track off the album which she said had never been performed in the US or the UK before.

A clearly passionate performer whose vocal ability will never fail to amaze, Melanie pulled off an amazing show that left fans truly craving for more.

Melanie’s sophomore album The MF Life is due for release in early 2011.

By Casey Elisha

GIG REVIEW: Janelle Monae Performs At Gap In Oxford Street

Janelle Monae joined the Fashion Rock festivities last week Wednesday by performing an impeccable set at the Gap in Oxford Street. Let me just start by saying, Janelle is in a league of her own. What's more; the fact that her free performance was just as exquisite as her ticket only event at KOKO later that evening, just goes to show how truly talented Monae really is.

With free food and drinks on tap and an audience ready to shake a leg after strolling in from work, the scene not to mention the excitement was set in place ready for Janelle to put on a show worth talking about. Along with her three piece band, including a guitarist with a startling resemblance to Andrea 3000, it wasn't long until Monae had everyone dancing and hypnotised by her enduring energy.

Not one to waste time, the pint size singer delved straight into her debut album’ The ArchAndroid’ with a ferocious spectacle of ‘Faster’, a fast tempo track with a pulsating kick that was an instant winner amongst the crowd.

The show continued with several more tracks from her latest release, including the funk/ electro pop tinged ‘Lost Inside’ and ‘Dance or Die’, that along with the flashing lights and the heightened euphoria; made us feel we were all apart of some kind of out of space disco party. In a slight change in pace, the popular leading single ‘Tight rope’ was welcomed with a rapturous seal of approval by a sea of excitable androids and ‘Cold War’, which would soon follow, was undoubtedly the climax of the early evening interval.

Janelle never fails to deliver a memorable performance and last week was no exception, we can't wait until she returns to London to perform at Alexandra Palace on the 3rd December.

RVB

GIG REVIEW: Bruno Mars At YoYo's, London

Last week Thursday during his promo schedule, pint-sized singer/songwriter/music producer Bruno Mars performed his first UK show at the weekly music night at YoYo's at the Notting Hill Arts Club.


The charming artist opened his performance with the track 'Other Side', sans B.o.B and Cee-Lo, who feature on the track. He went on to sing 'Nothing On You', but created his own lyrics to the song to fill in for sections where B.o.B would rap which went down a treat.


Bruno changed the vibe up a bit by performing Jimi Hendrix's 'Fire', where we got to see his skills on the electric guitar. The crowd then sang along to Travie McCoy's 'Billionaire', where Bruno sang his heart out. To be honest you didn't even realize that Travie's lyrics were missing - Bruno Mars makes that track!


To end the night, Bruno finished off with his brand new debut single, 'Just The Way You Are', which had the ladies swaying in the crowd, hanging on to every lyric in the track. This was the perfect track to end the night.


Aside from the appalling sound system, which caused a bit of technical difficulty at the beginning of his set, Bruno didn't let the sound quality affect his performance at all. A good performance all round from Mr Hernandez.


I can't wait for him to return to London to perform at a bigger venue!

GIG REVIEW: Melanie Fiona Live at Jazz Café, London

Energetic, fantastic, amazing. Just three of the words that can be used to describe the performance given by the wonderfully talented Miss Melanie Fiona on Tuesday night. This isn’t the first time Miss Fiona has graced a London stage (back in May the singer supported Alicia Keys at the 02) however it was her first headlining show, something which all could see she was more than excited about.

Melanie performed a number of songs from her debut album The Bridge, which was released back in 2009, to a vibrant audience at Camden’s Jazz Cafe. Supported by her two back up singers, and a band of 4, the songstress wowed fans with her powerful voice and positive energy that she brought to the stage.

The show opened with a bang as an enthused Melanie took to the stage to perform Bang Bang. She even surprised the packed-out crowd by performing covers of Kanye West’s hit Heartless and Sam Sparro’s Black and Gold  - to which she both did justice!
Difficult to pick a best moment for the night, although her performance of Somebody Come Get Me, a song she put out under the name ‘Syren Hall’ inspired by her Caribbean roots, was definitely a highlight. She had the whole audience cheering her on as, through the lyrics of the song, she told the story of woman ‘so vex’, as she put it, at her man for cheating on her that she wanted to kill him.

The night concluded with Melanie returning for an encore of her debut single Give it to Me Right. An enjoyable evening by such an incredible and down to earth woman. If you missed it, you definitely missed out!

Reviewed by Casey Elisha

GIG REVIEW: Janelle Monae Live At Hoxton Bar & Grill, London

In the packed-to-capacity, non-air-conditioned Hoxton Bar & Grill in East London, stood a crowd of hot and bothered people waiting for Miss Janelle Monae to grace the stage and wow us. We sure were wowed!

After the Wondaland maestro announced the start of the show, three women dressed in black hooded cloaks with their faces hidden, appeared on stage as 'Suite II Overture' played as an introduction to the amazing spectacle that was about to take place. Janelle ripped off her cloak and began to sing 'Dance Or Die' from her brand new debut album, 'The ArchAndroid'.

The animated singer performed songs from her new album such as 'Faster', 'Cold War' and her new single 'Tightrope' which had the crowd singing along, and also tracks from her EP 'Metropolis: Suite 1' like 'Violet Stars Hunting', Janelle's rendition of 'Smile' and 'Many Moons',which was the last track of the night.

Throughout the 'Emotion Picture' Janelle gave a stellar performance filled with energy, creativity, passion and fun, not to mention showing us some of her eye-catching dance moves (whilst hitting all the right notes), that match her charismatic character that makes her The ArchAndroid that she is.

An effortless, jaw-dropping performance from an amazing talent!

Photography by Paul Sonola

GIG REVIEW: Example at Jazz Café, London

Last Thursday night at the world-famous Jazz Café saw UK rapper, Example, take to the stage in what was an exclusive free gig for fans.

Example, accompanied by his DJ and two back-up singers (who also doubled up as guitarists), performed a number of tracks both old and new. The big ones for the night were 'Watch The Sun Come Up' and his top ten hit, 'Won't Go Quietly'. Admittedly, it took a while for the show to get into the swing of things, but by about the third track, he almost definitely had the audience in the palm of his hands. Performance wise, no-one can say Example doesn't know how to get a crowd going; there wasn't a single moment where everyone wasn't jumping around and enjoying the good atmosphere!

Although not a ram-packed affair, the gig, which lasted nearly an hour, definitely surpassed all expectations. Following the show and prospect of a forthcoming single, it looks as though Example is one to look out for this coming Summer.

Review by Casey Elisha

GIG REVIEW: Edei At Charlotte Street Blues, London

Last week, UK singer Edei graced the stage at Charlotte Street Blues for a small-scale gig. The 21 year-old songstress formerly known as Emma Deigman, performed a number of songs including her debut single, 'In My Bed'.

A beautiful girl with an even more beautiful voice, she looked undoubtedly at home on the stage; and as a performer she wasn't that bad either.

Accompanied by a live band, whom were also amazing, the show had the potential to be a very intimate experience for attendees to really get a chnac to find out about Edei the performer. However, the hustle and bustle of the bar, unfortunately, spoiled this potential atmosphere.

Nonetheless, Edei still managed to put on a really good performance; definitely an artist to keep your eye out for.

If you're out of the loop as to who Edei is check out the music video for her debut single 'In My Bed' here.

Review by Casey Elisha

Concert Review: Rihanna at Brixton Academy (16/11/09)

The Bajan princess, Rihanna, performed an exclusive gig for 40 minutes in London in association with Nokia, that was streamed live all over the world.

Rihanna looked great with two outfit changes of  a bejeweled leotard and a plain black one. She started by singing 'The Wait Is Over' from her new album, 'Rated R' and also performed new single 'Russian Roulette' on a rotating chair, and 'Hard' where Young Jeezy came out for his cameo on the track. Past hits by the singer were also performed.

Jay-Z also graced the stage with Riri for 'Run This Town' and her smash hit, 'Umbrella', which definitely upped the level Rihanna's show. Rihanna has definitely been taking some vocal lessons as she sounded much better than she normally does, even though her vocals were drowned out by her live band sometimes, but her stage presence was great.

For those of you that missed the live streaming, log onto www.nokia.com/rihanna for some footage of the show.

Concert Review: Jay-Z At Alexandra Palace

"Once you've seen one Jay-Z concert, you've seen them all" came to mind last night as I watched Jay-Z perform at an extremely packed Alexandra Palace full of 7000+ Jigga stans throwing up the ROC sign in North London.

With a full live band in gear with great imagery and flashing lights the show began.

Jay-Z performed songs off of his new album BluePrint 3 with hype man Memphis Bleek such as 'What We Talkin' About', 'D.O.A', 'Onto The Next One', as well as previous hits such as '99 Problems', 'Dirt Off Your Shoulder' and 'Show Me What You Got', where the live band gave it their all - the horns gave the track and the crowd a much needed blast of energy after many moments of pauses throughout his set.

Stand out moment of the show was when Jay performed his new single 'Empire State Of Mind' sans Alicia Keys, with the replacement of vocalist Bridget Kelly. 'Empire State Of Mind' had the crowd in a sense of awe.....kind of like the one Lil' Mama had at the MTV Awards, but there was no way anybody was getting near the stage! People were waving lighters in the air and singing along to the song which looks set to be Jay's second #1 single.

A medley of tracks were performed such as 'Swagga Like Us', 'Crazy In Love, '03 Bonnie & Clyde' which feature vocals from his wife Beyonce. I know the crowd hoped, (like I did), that Bey would appear on stage for those few seconds, but she never -she happily watched her husband perform from the VIP section with Gweneth Paltrow, with her bodyguard Julius by her side.

For the final section of the show Hova brought out Mr Husdon on his peformance of 'Young Forever'. Earlier in the day, the pair had started filming the music video for this track. The crowd were then used for a video promo for 'Young Forever' which was being filmed through that performance, which brought the show to and end as the crowd walked out to the sounds of Nirvana's classic, 'Smells Like Tean Spirit' by the live band.

Concert Review: Jay-Z at the Roundhouse, Camden

It was Jay-Z mania in Camden last night as lucky ticket holders for his sold out show at the Roundhouse, queued to watch the record-breaking rapper perform. ROC signs were being thrown up in the air in the queue by Rocawear wearing ladies, whilst BluePrint3 flags and billboards were waved about outside the music venue.

With no supporting acts, the crowd, which I must say was a very multi-cultural one - mainly full of people I don't expect were fans of the Jigga man before Glastonbury or his collaborations with other music acts such as Coldplay, Linkin' Park, Rihanna and Kanye West - waited for nearly two and a half hours before Jay-Z appeared on stage. Normally when waiting hours for an act, the crowd normally becomes restless....well not in this instance!

Ten minutes before Jay-Z was to appear on stage, a countdown timer appeared on the huge screen followed by a deafening cheer by the crowd. As the timer got to 0:10, the crowd started to countdown the beginning of the show, which kind of reminded me of New Years Eve, and at 0:00 the live band dropped the beat for 'Death Of Autotune' and HOVA himself appeared. The hyped crowed rocked their heads to the beat whilst throwing up the diamond ROC sign rapping along with Jay to the beat.

"Ya'll are pretty quick with your fingers.....I heard this show sold out in two and a half seconds!" Jay-Z said to the frenzied crowd, which lead to everyone in the building chanting 'HOVA! HOVA!'. With hype man Memphis Bleek, Jay rocked the Roundhouse dropping classsic hits one after the other such as 'Heart Of The City', 'ROC Boys', 'I Just Wanna Love U' and 'Jigga What, Jigga Who'. He even had the crowd singing along to the Oasis classic 'Wonderwall'!

The New York rapper also dropped his #1 UK single, 'Run This Town' sans Rihanna and Kanye, and also the best track (in my opinion) on BluePrint3, 'Empire State Of Mind', which sounded great even without Alicia Keys' soulful voice, which was replaced by an unknown singer who graced the stage with Jay. I think Jay should've performed a few more tracks from the album, especially 'Thank You', but I guess he wants to save all of that for his world tour, which he'll emabark upon after a few more single releases from BluePrint3.

Not many rappers can work a stage, but I must say Jay definitely doesn't fall into that category. I was fully entertained. All in all the concert was great, mind you I wouldn't expect anything else from somebody at the top; top of the album charts, top of the singles chart and top of the list as one of the G.O.A.Ts

Concert Review: Brandy (Indigo2)

My lovely friend and fellow journalist Emmanuel invited me down to Indigo2, to watch his favourite singer of all time, Brandy, perform.

The last time I saw Brandy perform in concert was years ago at the Royal Albert Hall, when her album 'Never Say Never' was out! Sporting a new funky-cut, yaki weave, that was super shiny, Brandy was pulling out some dance moves. She had some MJ-robotic dance moves going on with a hint of some African moves.....I liked. She started the concert with 'Afrodisiac', which is a tune and followed through with other songs such as 'What About Us' and 'Full Moon'.

I didn't actually realise how many adoring fans she had or how many years she's been in the music industry. The concert was like a trip down memory lane, with Brandy singing a medley of her old-time jams, such as 'I Wanna Be Down' and 'Baby', and giving us some of her material from her latest album, 'Human'.

I can't fault the girl, she gave a great pitch perfect performance, but the thing I disliked is that the concert was over before you knew it! She was on stage for 45 minutes, which actually felt like 30 minutes. To make matters worse....where was the encore?? That's the first concert I've been to where there was no encore, and I've been to quite a few concerts!

Brandy, my dear, next time, ENCORE!

Images: KCB