Last night at U St Music Hall Noname had 2 shows due to the first selling out very quickly and high demand for another…luckily I was one of the lucky ones to get tickets to the first show. Doors were set to open at 6pm for the 1st show and 10pm for the 2nd show. I (with my due diligence this time) was able to get there early (a little too early) and got a great parking spot. I had some time to kill (about an hour and a half) so I took a nap. At about 5:30pm I figured it was best to go ahead and get in line. I got in line and thankfully it was not yet long but about 10 mins after I got in line it decided to rain. I contemplated before I got out of the car whether or not to bring my umbrella but was like, “It’s not really going to rain.” Twenty minutes later I was drenched and wiping the rain from my face (keep in mind that I had on a Nike jacket that was waterproof and a scarf over my head and even still I was drenched).

Doors were supposed to open at 6pm and didn’t open until about 6:15pm which was a little irritating seeing as though it was raining and I was soaking wet. We proceeded down the narrow stairwell in which I had to stay to the right since my ticket was on Will Call but hard tickets could go to the left (note to self try to get hard tickets next time-the process is a lot quicker). While waiting on the steps this woman brushes by knocking me with her butt and when I tell you I’ve never seen a butt so big, excuse my french but that woman had a big ass. It was literally like 4 butts in a row and then add another row and I’m not kidding. She had to walk down the steps sideways and still managed to have it bump into me and it wasn’t until I turned that I realized OMG (Jesus help me). Anyway after I got my ticket and made a bathroom stop (it’s better to go before than afterward-looks and smells a lot different) I found a spot on the right side of the stage.

Now I was hoping since the line wasn’t that long that I would somehow be able to be closer to the front with a good view but that other line moved quicker than I thought and more people got in, that and there were just a lot of tall people in the front. Thankfully though not long after we got let in the 1st opening act Akenya came out and performed. She seemed so nice and sang really well considering that she said she had been battling laryngitis. She sang about 3 or 4 songs and then the DJ hit the stage. Now I’ve thought about being a DJ but about half of the songs he played I had never heard of but the crowd was singing every word (which somewhat leads me to think they might not even know the music I know). Then of course there were your standard songs that everyone knows even if you hate them.

Next up was Ravyn Lenae who gave me that free-spirited type of vibe. She spoke of colors, feelings and being in touch with one’s self. She did quite a few songs maybe 6 or 7 and I liked a lot of them. One thing that I especially liked is that she would speak of the meaning behind the song which as a writer I love because that’s the purpose of the song; it’s how the song came to fruition. There was a nice little 20 min break after Rayvn and then Noname comes out. She went through her entire album but of course when Diddy Bop came on I was turnt (that’s my song)! She cut it short though and didn’t do Raury’s part (which I also like in the song) and the song is already short. It seemed like the majority of the crowd knew most of her songs but you could tell which ones were the most popular. It was a good show and by the time I left I was happy that I had the 1st show versus the 2nd because by then I was tired.

I apologize in advance the picture quality is not that great (I blame having to duck and dodge people’s hands and faces). Next up is THEY.