Essence Fest Day 1 Part II

Guest Blogger: Michael Patrick Welch

We arrived at Essence Festival just as Salt and Pepa, the most famous girl rappers of all time rushed onto the stage, flanked by two-story columns of Las Vegas lights. As the ladies, their famous girl DJ, Spinderella (now with Mac laptop wired to her turntables), and three loosely choreographed dancers brought to life hit after hit (Shoop, the go-go song Shake Yo Thang, and a premature Push It) the Superdome’s sound was much better than I remembered. The girls’ big, old-school bass was creamy, and I understood every word even on the few unfamiliar songs. The ladies looked good, Pepa even sexier than her young self. To everyone’s surprise, the trio’s hit What A Man, did not feature an appearance by girl singing group En Vogue, who’d recently reunited and would perform later in the Essence weekend.

Great New Orleans DJ EF Cuttin and MC Blacknificent DJ’d a “grown folks party” set. By which, I mean old-school jams and a Michael Jackson tribute (MJ was the day’s overarching theme) and the Will Smith hit, Getting Jiggy Wit It (not EF Cuttin’s finest moment). Regardless, he succeeded in revving the crowd for Solange.

Though Solange despises comparisons to her headlining sister, she can be most easily described, in a good way, as a toned-down Beyonce. Solange is just as gorgeous, but wore a plain v-neck t-shirt and stretch-pants. While her sister would later perform with a 13-piece all-girl band including two drummers and a horn section, Solange chose four handsome young dudes reminiscent of indy-rockers, Spoon. Rather than giant screens and confetti explosions, Solange and her two backup singers executed well-rehearsed, classic girl-group choreography, embellished with rock-centric microphone stand moves. Solange’s songs (some of which were co-written by Cee-Lo of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley) are mostly dance music, hook driven, but shift times and moods in interesting ways, and never make reference to anyone’s booty. (With sheer personality, talent, and good writing, Solange managed to obscure the big SUV that was her backdrop.)

Indoor sunglasses are an Essence Fest tradition (the A/C in the dome is also kept on about 60-degrees, so that, I assume, people can wear three-piece suits in summer). Returning to the main stage, I slid my own glasses on so that I could privately shed a few tears as the giant screens played a long tribute to Michael Jackson. The Preservation Hall Jazz band moaned a few sad second-line tunes for the most touching performance of the evening.

Next up was John Legend. Legend walked through the crowd like a wrestler on his way to the stage. He has always seemed a handsome, charming young crooner and pianist, but I’m only familiar with his newer song that opens with Andre 3000 reminding you he’s the Jimi Hendrix of rap.

I left to find another young neo soul artist called Dwele perform in the McDonalds Superlounge. Dwele ended before I could form an opinion, and was followed by beloved local bounce music pioneer DJ Jubilee. Jubilee clued the tourists into the true sounds of modern day New Orleans, where the bass is so loud because the words barely matter—unless it’s Jubilee himself instructing you to perform some wild neighborhood dance. Jubilee recharged me for the headlining act.

Beyonce Knowles is one of the few pop artists of our time who aspires to anything like a Michael Jackson level of talent and showmanship. No way is she as good as Michael. But her singing and dancing talents are undeniable. Tension was thick as the masses crowded around the main stage, ready for her performance. After a commercial break from the various sponsors, we were hit upside the head with Beyonce. She opened with Crazy In Love, and for 20-minutes sprinted through the more famous end of her high-energy catalog. Her monstrous all-girl band provided the noise for explosive, impossibly choreographed dance routines. Beyonce never seemed to break a sweat. A screen so high-definition it bordered on 3D mesmerized with close-ups and psychedelic tricks. The colors of the stage’s Las Vegas columns seemed barely able to keep up with the show, and Beyonce’s forceful yet effortless singing cut through the dome like a laser. It was all truly awesome. Until she hit the slow songs.

She began with the Joan Osbourne-esque single, If I were a Boy from her new split-personality double album, I Am…Sasha Fierce. Until then she’d had the crowd on their feet. Now we all sat down. Beyonce followed up with a string of hair-blown Disney type ballads decorated with clouds and sky projections. When she finally launched into Alanis Morrisette’s, You Oughta Know, I made my way to the door—pausing under the exit sign for the duration of the Lil’ Wayne-inspired, “Diva.” I surely would have stayed had I not been worn by a full day at Essence Fest.