GNO: Justin Timberlake Concert

photo 3
I took a trip to the Bay Area this past weekend and it just so happened a group of my girlfriends were planning to all attend the Justin Timberlake concert for his current 20/20 Experience tour, in San Jose for a Girl’s Night Out (GNO)! It could also have been dubbed Mommy’s Night Out aka Mommy’s Gone Wild! haha! From pre-gaming at Mau’s place to catching the end of teh NFC Championship playoff at San Pedro Square…and the walk to SAP where the concert was being held…..FUN!!

At any rate, JT concert was fun…although I am so unfamiliar with his newer stuff, it really kinda made me feel “dated.” Good times for sure…thankful for the opportunity to get out with the ladies who’ve I’ve known for DECADES… Check out some of the photos from our night of shenanigan’s below.

Screen shot 2014-01-23 at 12.35.31 AMphoto 1photo 2

Watch The Throne

I was lucky enough to attend “Watch The Throne” in Miami last night, courtesy of Dontaira and Kia… ๐Ÿ™‚ The Jay-Z and Kanye concert is nothing short of fabulous, amazing, exciting and inspiring!! The energy inside American Airlines Arena was unbelievable, not an empty seat in the house..and of course plenty of star sightings with DWade and LeBron leading the way, (on what could’ve been a HEAT game night at Triple A), but nonetheless, thousands upon thousands of Hip Hop fans threw the Roc in the air to party with the best of ’em – myself included! ๐Ÿ˜‰

I borrowed the above pic from @CCole_E twitter, cuz apparently her tickets were slightly closer then mine…LOL!! I’m not complaining though…I had a great view of everything I needed to see.

The set design and staging for the show were extremely well done, they had a main stage with a platform that went up and down centered in front of it, then opposite there was another platform which could be raised as well, bringing the artists closer to the crowd across the main stage.

bluejayz redkanye

The lighting and use of lasers, fire and effects = mind-blowing…I was seriously mesmerized.

green jay

Obviously I wouldn’t expect anything less from Hip Hop Royalty, but all the staging, paired with SO MANY hits…all that music…WOW, just WOW!

lights

During the 2 hour show they each had their own sets in addition to performing several songs together from Watch The Throne and elsewhere….but more than anything, I loved hearing Jay’s hits that took me back a good decade + … and being surrounded with everyone else who felt it too.

dualpic

And — the best part, they did “Ni**as in Paris” 5 TIMES!! Twice to close the show and 3 times for an encore….and each time they re-started the crowd loved it that much more! “THAT SHIT CRAY!!!”

Shouts to my concert date Kimi..it was her FIRST EVER rap/hip hop concert!! I know, right!?!? It was a hot, sweaty, humid mess inside the Arena, but worth every beat that we danced too.

flag

How many artists can make tens of thousands (grown ass adult fans) throw the Roc symbol in the air and all be on the same beat…. If they’re coming to an arena near you…you DON’T want to miss it…simply EPIC.

Erykah Badu in Miami

I attended the Erykah Badu concert in Miami last night, acting off a last-minute spontaneous invite by my friend Kimi to get me out of the house! I think this may also be the first time I’ve been to the American Airlines Arena when it transforms into the “Waterfront Theater” for a more intimate setting. I wouldn’t say I’m a HUGE fan of Ms. Badu, but I respect her music and I definitely know her more mainstream/popular hits and who doesn’t appreciate LIVE music?!

She came on stage wearing a purple hoodie and immediately Kimi freaked and was like, “Is she going to strip??” ….referring to the recent controversial music video released by Badu for her new song Window Seat, where she systematically removes all her clothing in downtown Dallas while walking to the spot were JFK was killed. Needless to say that wasn’t going to happen, but she did have a minor wardrobe change, adding a top hat and fitted letterman jacket.

I love the way she keeps it “real.” I’ve never paid too close of attention to her specific lyrics, but she is a true poet when expressing her pain and life experiences, especially when it comes to love and heartache. She also did snippets of classic Hip Hop rhymes, which the audience clearly appreciated and chimed in on the popular verses.

All in all, I had a great “date night” with Kimi. I was expecting Badu to do her frequently quoted Tyrone song, but it didn’t happen even though a whole lotta folks in the audience screamed for it!

Oh yeah, here’s a youtube I found with her On and On performance if you want a taste of the show!