On November 18th, I saw Kelela in the Hell venue at The Masquerade. There was more security than usual because two people were shot and killed the Sunday before. I honestly welcomed the security because before there was literally none. I didn’t feel like my life was in danger at previous events at The Masquerade, but now I feel extra safe.
So when I go to stand in line, I ask a guy outside if the line is for Kelela because I just want to be sure. He says yea ans asks me if I have a meet and greet ticket. I say no and honestly I was a little mad because I never saw any meet and greet tickets. I probably would’ve bought one if I knew she had some. But that’s whatever because I got there early af to make sure I can be closer to the front. The doors opened at 7pm and I got there around 6pm. So there were only 10 or 15 people in front of me. When the I finally get inside I go to the merchandise table so I can buy a shirt but the lady isn’t set up yet. I don’t think it’s a big deal. I just decide to get one after the show and I hurry to the stage because there are barely any people there and I secure my spot near the stage. But honestly, the merchandise thing became an issue for me later on, but I’ll save that for that end.
I’m in the front and I talk to the girl next to me a little about going to concerts by myself and why I prefer it. She says she’s afraid to go by herself so she brought her friend that doesn’t really listen to Kelela. And we are both equally upset about not knowing about the meet and greet tickets. We also talked about what songs we liked from Kelela’s Hallucinogen album. She wants to hear ‘A Message’ and my favorite is ‘All the Way Down’.
When the opener Lafawndah came on stage, I didn’t know what she was gonna sound like. I thought it would have to be good because she’s opening up for Kelela and of course she was. She has amazing vocals and the production of her songs are crisp. Lafawndah was really shy, but she came out of her shell when performing. She was dancing on stage and holding the mic in interesting ways. It was her first time in Atlanta and she said it was important place to visit. I don’t know the names of any of her songs, but I recommend her music. She kind of reminds me of M.I.A. because of her unique sound, but she doesn’t rap. She wrote a song the day after Trump was elected when there was a feeling of doom. However, the same day her friend had texted her to let her know that she had her baby. So the song was hopeful despite that feeling of despair.
When the were setting up for Kelela, they put down the set list. The girl next to me tried to zoom in on the paper to see what it said and I strained my eyes to read it. With out great eyes and detective skills we managed to figure out every song on the list except for one. We were just happy that she was gonna sing our sings from Hallucinogen.
Kelela came out and got right into the music. Her first song was ‘Waitin’ and everybody was hype! All of her band mates were dressed in white. Her two back up singers had long braids that went to the side like her hair. She had precise dance movements and would turn her head on beat like a robot. She also embraced her sexy side on the stage. Sort of like how she did in her ‘Blue Light’ video, except she wasn’t naked and wrapped in her hair.
She ended the song ‘SOS’ with a phone call simulation and talked to someone on the other line. She asked him if she could come over and we could tell the guy on the line was being weird even though we couldn’t hear his voice and it wasn’t a real phone call. She said something along the lines of “Either you want me to come or you don’t” then she sang the let me know part from Aaliyah’s song ‘At your Best’ and then went into her own song ‘LMK’. The transitioned was so smooth.
For Hallucinogen, she let her singers Christian and Cee sing. When it was time for her to come back out, she stood to the side and hesitated to come out because they were getting it. She complimented their voices when she returned.
Before she performed ‘Bluff’ she explained it a little bit. She talked about how she wanted her partner to be vulnerable and honest with her. Also, how some people feel like they have nobody and it was a song to let the other person know that somebody could actually be down for you and love you unconditionally and let them know that unconditional love isn’t a myth.
She also talked about ‘Frontline’ and how it’s the first time that you leave, but you not really leaving and there’s a lot of next swinging and sass. The ending of the song goes “Why are you testing me? No, no, no. I’m not the one.”
Her last song was ‘The High’ and she used a little of the beat from Tweet’s “Oops (Oh My)” and sung a bit of the song. Since I was in the very front, I got to touch her hand twice during the concert! Ayyeeee!!
For her encore song, she sang ‘Bankhead’ from her album ‘Cut 4 Me’. I thought it was a great song to choose since she was in Atlanta.
After the show, I went to go get my shirt. There was a white long sleeve shirt with burnt orange letters fro $30 and a black hoodie with a better design on the front and dark red letters for the tour dates on the back for $45. Mind you, I had planned to only pay $30 but the hoodies looked better in my opinion. But apparently my opinion didn’t matter because they only had smalls and mediums for the hoodies and I needed a large. My only choice was to buy the long sleeved shirt. Or I could’ve bought nothing, but I was getting something so that was never an option. But honestly, the girl selling the merchandise should’ve been set up before we came in. I guess it doesn’t matter now because I still got a shirt. I gotta learn to let go.
