Jhené Aiko
20th September 2018
Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chontalle Musson.
Words can inspire and uplift, they can call out those that have wronged you and pay homage to the ones that have loved you. The combination of both words and a strong woman can create something different altogether and last night as fans prepared themselves for the arrival of the beautiful American R&B singer Jhené Aiko they were treated to another strong woman who wields words, Aotearoa’s own Ladi 6.
Playing close to an hour long set, tonight’s show was turning out to be more of a double headliner of both local and international talent, Ladi 6 commanding the stage from the moment she smiled and held up her hands. While the concrete bunker that is Logan Campbell struck again, creating a muddy sound mix which the bass overly dominated in some places, nothing could sully the sheer power of Ladi 6’s voice as she both held some impressively long notes and let her voice take to new heights. From a scintillating cover of the Nancy Sinatra classic ‘Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down) which almost had a Kimbra ‘Settle Down’ rhythm running under it’s surface to classics such ‘Jasmine D.L.’ and ‘Like Water’ Ladi 6 knew instinctively what the audience both wanted and needed.
Calling for the fans to rock with her and then later boogie down, Ladi 6 not only had her three-piece band accompany her – drummer Julian Dyne at one point providing a rather proficient solo – but for the first time she introduced the ‘sixes’; two female dancers in matching outfits and mirrored aviators whose perfectly synchronised choreography saw the crowd go wild. Undoubtedly Ladi 6’s biggest hit of the night had to be the brilliant ‘Outta Time’, Ladi 6 joking about her own personal relationship with the proverbial clock (i.e. being late) but it all working out every time.
While the crowd were kept amused with tracks suck as Miguel’s ‘Sky Walker’, Tory Lanez ‘I Sip’ and the soon to be playing Auckland himself 6LACK’s ‘Pretty Little Fears’ (featuring J. Cole), the stage was slowly transformed into what could only be described as a verdant paradise, giant brightly coloured flowers offset by the long tipped leaves of dozens of potted palms, a towering harp off to the right catching the eye. Just as the ladies down front were throwing themselves into a karaoke version of ‘Trip’ by Ella Mai, the lights dropped, and lyrics were replaced by unadulterated screaming as fans lost themselves to the excitement of seeing Jhené Aiko live. But it was Aiko’s voice that greeted them first, a quaint and amusing safety style message being played over the PA system asking fans not to use flash photography and warning them that there would be “strobing lights” and to note their “nearest exits” before a heartfelt “have a nice trip” was murmured.
Kicking the set off was a taped version of ‘LSD’, the audience not minding one iota as they sang along, hollering at the screen every time Aiko’s face appeared in large scale. Arriving on stage at the video’s conclusion to much celebration, Aiko moved into Blue Dream as scenes of oceans and sun-drenched clouds were displayed behind her, the twinkling crystalline notes from her harpist highlighting the song in all the right places. Dressed in a long silvery gossamer jacket that spent much of it’s time hanging off her shoulders and a cut out crop top, it would be an understatement to say that Aiko looked sensational, many of the fans showing their appreciation by loudly declaring their love for her. However, Aiko was more impressed by their singing abilities, especially on popular tracks such as ‘While We’re Young’; word for word the song was echoed back to Aiko, her smile slowly growing wider as the track progressed.
Widely known for her taste of a certain plant her acknowledgement of a familiar aroma in the air during her favoured track ‘Sativa’ saw many in return whooping with delight. The Grammy nominated singer has always used words in an almost cathartic fashion, each of her songs she tells her followers true stories; many of her tracks such as ‘Comfort Inn Ending’ and ‘The Worst’ ones that those in the audience seemingly deeply related to as well as hands were held to chests and emotions were laid out raw for all to see. While only on stage for just over an hour, Aiko packed in a large amount of material, mixing full length songs with brief extracts of others. Listening to her tales it is easy to see why her recently released poetry book entitled ‘2Fish’ has been so popular.
Sentiments of love for her adorers and playful banter where she questioned fans as to whether they were good before jokingly stating that no one had yet asked if she was – the crowd quickly enquiring in unison – peppered the set before the evening culminated in Aiko performing ‘OLLA (Only Lovers Left Alive) while inviting several very excited fans on stage to dance.
Saying her goodbyes, Aiko threw flowers out to the masses before disappearing into the shadows, her personnel continuing with the giveaway of greenery as they handed out the aforementioned potted palms to eager outstretched hands; a recorded version of Aiko’s title song to the album ‘Trip’ serenading them as they slipped into the night.
A living souvenir appropriate of such an outstanding trip…
Setlist:
- LSD
- Blue Dream
- While We’re Young
- New Balance
- Newer Balance (Freestyle)
- Never Call Me
- Hello Ego
- Comfort Inn Ending
- The Worst
- Oblivion
- Oblivion (Creation)
- Psilocybin (Love In Full Effect)
- Stay Ready (What A Life)
- Bed Space
- Post To Be
- It’s A Vibe
- Sativa
- From Time
- Frequency
- W.A.Y.S
- OLLA (Only Lovers Left Alive)
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