John Legend: Live

For a girl who loves order, you'd think that instead of posting about February, I'd be hustling through the end of my Eurotrip posts (my apologies, Prague and Berlin!), or writing two (if not three) posts about our sisters' visit (along with two full photo shoots), or pumping out a couple restaurant reviews from some January dinner dates. And let's not even mention our weekender in Little Cayman. I could write for days about that. But at the moment, I'm still on a total high from the John Legend concert at Live Lounge in Camana Bay this past weekend, so I'll go with my gut and cover recent events in this current state of obsession.

For you accountants, just consider this to be a LIFO post.

First, I want to say that NS (who is not exactly the world's biggest music lover) was a total gem for taking me to our first concert. Our first! After eight and a half years of marriage, we still had a first.  Winning.



Second, I want to say that opening acts must be chosen simply based on their ability to make the feature entertainer sound even better.

My favorite shots during the opening acts were actually of the crowd.

Third, I want to say that John Legend didn't need help sounding better. Not one ounce.

He came out singing "Rolling in the Deep".  

As if JL didn't have enough killer music in his arsenal to blow me away.  Starting with a Grammy-nominated, crowd-pleasing Adele song?  He had us in the first few bars. Sold. A million percent sold.

Our tickets were in the stage-front section, which made for a pretty good view (although I was limited to a 50mm lens due to the no-zoom-lens rule.)

But I honestly, honestly could have kept my eyes closed the entire time and just taken in the music. And that's what I love about John Legend live: He has a band, two back-up signers, a Yamaha grand piano, and his voice. No half-dressed dancers. He doesn't distract with gimmicks. No smoke and mirrors. It's all about the music.

He barely put down the mic for 90 minutes. Bliss!

I decided that JL's velvety voice makes him the Nat King Cole of my generations.

Favorite shot

And I'm not even over Nat King Cole.

Notice wardrobe change #1 going on above? During the concert, I realized that male artists seem to like to start in leather jackets and end in tank tops.

One more photography note: The 50mm was NOT the ideal lens for how far I was from stage. But. It gave me the chance to play with some cool effects with the spotlights.

I call it beneficial light pollution.

A couple highlights from the show:

Slow Dance


Literally. Talk about audience participation.

I've only shared the G-rated moves these two pulled. It.was.hysterical.  Crowd = wild.

John Legend ended it with, "Hey, there's nothing wrong with a slow dance." Agreed.


Dreams

Listen first. Read second.

N shot just a little snippet (see a full performance here). This might be my new favorite JL song. And that's saying a lot.

As the photos above and below indicate, all good things do come to an end, but not before an encore performance that included "Ordinary People" and "Stay With You". The evening ended on a total feel-good note.

I promise that I'm not this crazy about everyone that picks up a microphone. I'm not typically tempted by concerts and live events. But. If you ever get the chance to see John Legend live, do yourself a favor and go. He's even better in person than on iTunes. 

Unbelievable. [But it's true.]