Awhile back my friend Angel and I were talking about how we should try to go and see Usher’s show in Las Vegas. I like Usher but if I remember correctly those tickets were pretty pricey but I will admit after seeing people’s clips on social media of them at the show, towards the end it made me want to go but of course it was too late. No too long after that we heard that Usher would be going on tour this year (just like every other artist it seems like) but that was great because this would give us a chance to see the show. Originally DC was his first stop but somewhere along the line he added 3 Atlanta shows before it (and all 3 of the Atlanta shows ended up getting canceled due to an injury Usher had, so DC did end up being his first stop).

Angel and I looked out for tickets in the area and to me they were pricey but it was Usher we’re talking about. Angel gifted me with tickets to the show and scored some amazing seats in section 236 row C for the 2nd night that he’d be in DC. She booked these tickets months ago so we waited months and months until last night. Usher performed at the Capital One Arena in DC on Tuesday, August 20th (opening night) and Wednesday, August 21st (night two). My aunt went to see him on opening night and told me that the show was great, he used a lot of technology and rollerskated. Angel and I mapped out a plan for pickup to carpool and to get food before the show as to not have to spend once inside.

I booked parking further away from the venue as to not get caught up in traffic going or leaving the concert. We ate a District Rico a peruvian chicken place off H St, NW which was enough to fill us up. Per the venue’s bag policy, I made sure to bring a small purse and brought 2 others in case Angel didn’t have one (she ended up using one). As we walked up to the venue we could see the bin of lockers on the side for anyone that had bags that were too big to take inside. There were multiple entrances and we found one that was moving a bit better than the others (having some streets blocked off helped with the crowd). We arrived to our seats around 7:50pm and though the show was slated to begin at 8pm, my aunt said Usher didn’t come out until 9pm and a DJ played for the hour leading up to it (so we were in no rush).

We had a good view from where we were (I was thankful we weren’t up too high) and the DJ (DJ Mars and then briefly DJ Quick Silva) was good. He helped get the crowd’s energy up as we listened to mostly the early 2000’s hits. As the hour passed you could see people began filling in all around us and at 9:10pm Usher hit the stage. Now I knew I knew Usher’s songs but when I watched him during the halftime show at the Superbowl and found myself singing every song nearly word for word I knew that was a pre-game for what tonight would bring. There were very few songs that he sang last night that I either hadn’t heard or didn’t know but what I will say is I thought I was going to lose my voice from singing and screaming.

Usher took us back to the beginning when he first came out and began with those songs. Early songs like “My Way” and “Nice and Slow” from the My Way album bought back the nostalgic feel of a young Usher getting noticed in the industry. (Sidenote: I’m sure that the “My Way” music video is a favorite amongst Usher fans as it indeed is one of mine). All of his hit singles from the 8701 album he performed like “U Remind Me” where he brought out dancers in a playful act, “U Got It Bad” and “U Don’t Have to Call”. I enjoyed seeing the crowd so hype and you could tell by looking around the impact that his music has had on his fans.

Usher probably performed the most songs from his Confessions album singing, “Yeah!”, “Confessions”, “Confessions Part II”, “Burn”, “Caught Up”, “Bad Girl”, “My Boo” and “Seduction”. From the Here I Stand album he performed “Love in This Club” and I wish he would’ve done “Here I Stand” too but his catalog is lengthy so there are some that just won’t make the set list cut. Let’s talk about some of these outfits for a moment…so he comes out in a black suit with a matching long jacket and hat and everything sparkles (I love sparkles). Of course he slowly disposes of these items and dances and sings around a while in the bedazzled black suit (this was also the outfit in which he skated around stage in with bedazzled skates of course). Another outfit was something similar to what he wore in the “My Way” video when he performed that song specifically.

Other than black, red was the color of the night as one outfit included what looked like a leather red jacket and black pants and probably my favorite was when he walked out in a long red fur coat, shirtless, red pants and white shoes. During the performance of “U Got It Bad” he tore his white tank off and the crowd went crazy to the point that I thought something serious happened (like someone joined him on stage) but it was just the shirtlessness that drove the crowd wild. Now, back to the music…from the Raymond v Raymond album he performed “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home), “There Goes My Baby”, “Lil Freak”, “OMG” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”. Going through that album I forgot how many songs I actually know off that album that he didn’t perform. From the album Looking 4 Myself he performed the song “Climax”.

Let’s get into the surprises of the night…for one thing I definitely thought that I would’ve heard more songs from Usher’s latest album “COMING HOME” but he only sang the song “Good Good”. I was ready to sing and dance to my favorites like, “Bop”, “Stone Kold Freak”, “I Am The Party” and “Please U” but he didn’t perform much of that album. Of course with us being in DC, Usher made mention that he wanted to do something special for us tonight and somehow I immediately knew he was talking about Raheem DeVaughn. He calls his name and Raheem walks out singing my favorite (and the song that put him on the map) “You”. I had a time singing along to that as I first heard that song when I was in high school and instantly loved it.

After that, Usher sang his verse from the song “The Matrimony” which is by Wale and Angel turned to me and said, “Maybe Wale will come out.” The crowd must’ve thought the same thing because I could feel the anticipation in the air and of course he in fact did come out and sing that very song for us. Usher said though that wasn’t enough and afteraall we were in DC and suddenly they played “No Hands” and everyone who is anyone knows that Wale BODIED that verse (it has to be if not one of my favorite verses from him). Everyone geared up and we all sang his verse out loud and it was a whole moment that brought me back to my college days. That was a great moment.

Usher did a bit of crowd work as he performed. He dapped some fans on the floor and called out some of the ladies in the lower level where he could directly see. He called out one woman who had on neon green (and I could see her all the way on the other side where I was) and another woman who must’ve been blessed “up top” and showcasing them. He also called out a guy that looked like he didn’t want Usher to say anything to the girl he was with and Usher playfully said something along the line of, “I see you looking like, ‘Don’t say anything to my girl,’ I definitely will, if not now it’s definitely coming, Oh yes it will happen but it’s all in good fun and not to be taken too seriously.”

While Usher played around in the crowd he must’ve got word that a certain someone was in VIP and there she was as they showed her on the screen, Ari Lennox. Usher had the DJ play her song “Pressure” and the crowd sang and I think that made her smile. If she was hoping to keep a low profile while there that cover was now blown. Just when you thought that was it for the surprises “Da Butt” began to play and “walked in this place…” out came Sugar Bear and the crowd went wild! I can definitely say without a doubt that we partied the entire night while there (I was so convinced that I was going to lose my voice). I really enjoyed the company of everyone during the 2nd show of Usher’s tour in DC and I don’t think I’ve danced or sang so much at a concert to date as I have at this show.

When it was time to go I definitely thought Usher was bluffing but the lights came on and that was the cue that the show was over. It was’t too chaotic getting out of the venue and leaving from parking was a breeze since we were blocks over from the city. Angel and I both agreed that the show was one of the best we’ve seen and was well worth the money. If you have tickets for the show you are in for a treat so go ready to party and have a good time. If you don’t have tickets you might want to see if you can get some because he is a great performer and I hope that he takes a few months off (if not a year) when he’s done with this tour because he went from the Vegas residency to the Superbowl to touring until December.

When I got home I was curious as to if he brought out anyone on night one in DC because my aunt didn’t mention it. When I asked her she said that he hinted at it but didn’t. I told her who he brought out during our show and the songs they sang. I was still on a high from the night as I got ready for bed and Angel and I will now see Eric Roberson at the Birchmere in late September as our next show. However, my next show will be Sinéad Harnett in mid September and I got confirmation today that I can cover the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 53rd Annual Legislative Conference (which I will post on this site). Be on the lookout because there’s more to come.