A much anticipated tour finally arrived and their fans have been anticipating this moment for years. Tonight DC welcomes The Boy is Mine Tour starring Brandy and Monica. Now I remember during covid when Verzuz began and the Brandy and Monica Verzuz was definitely in my top 3 if not my favorite. I wasn’t quite sure of how it’d go as rumor had it that there was tension between the two. Whether there was or not it looks as though that moment allowed them to get close enough to be in talks of a potential tour because the reactions from the views and fans screamed that this was long overdue.

I believe even Monica made it a point to say at one point that she didn’t understand why people felt the need that they had to choose or pick a side because you can simply love both. Granted their styles are different and maybe even personalities but there is some commonality somewhere. Once it was official and it was announced online they might as well have broken the internet because people couldn’t believe it. There was no doubt at all that this tour wouldn’t do well.

I asked a few concert friends if they were interested in going and my friend Angel said yes. Since she treated me to tickets to the Usher concert this summer I figured I’d treat her to these tickets. She looped in a high school friend Lauren who I welcomed to come along as it’d been years since I’d seen her. I told Lauren I’d reach out to her on the day of the onsale to determine what price we’d want to pay and where we’d sit. Prices were fair considering that there would be others on the lineup (Muni Long and Kelly Rowland) but even if there weren’t I still would’ve gone.

Lauren sent me the money for her ticket and we managed to score tickets in the 200’s 2nd row on the side with a good side/frontal view. And now we wait. Tonight was a cold one and with it being the end of November is to be expected. The venue Capital One Arena sent out a notice telling customers that there’s a no bag policy with the exception of a clutch. I sent a screenshot of that to the girls via group text just to inform them. We settled on securing parking and met up at the parking garage.

Oh my goodness now I have to tell you what happened to us on our walk to the arena from the garage (which was about 5 blocks). Mind you the show starts at 7pm and doors open at 6pm so we are walking to the arena around 5:50pm in November so it’s darkk out. We’re walking and I’m always leery walking in DC late at night or early in the morning and you’re about to find out why. The three of us are side by side and we pass a trash can I’m closest to the trashcan by the curb , Angel is in the middle and then Lauren.

I see nearly everything and I have a habit of partially looking down when I walk and my side vision is phenomenal. Why did a huge rat run across right in front of us as we were walking? When I say right in front I mean we were within mm of that rat running across all our feet (it was faster than we were thank God). I happened to see something shoot out from the left side and as it passed me I didn’t even get a clear visual but I got a full one and I grabbed Angel next to me by her shoulders to make her stop and let out the loudest scream I ever have (I sounded like a gay man quickly terrified) so much so it echoed in the street.

Angel looked at me and said, “Malecia what is it?” Of course I am literally still trying to gather the breath I just let out and told her it was a huge rat that just ran across right in front of us. Angel quickly feeling unerved put some pep in her step and I was ready to just walk fast and in the street at this point because that was way to close. We arrive to the venue with a line outside so we stand and wait. The line doesn’t appear to begin moving until 6:15pm and security comes around with a basket informing people of what cannot come inside and about bags.

I had no bag as I carried everything in my pockets, Angel had a clutch size bag which they said was ok and Lauren’s bag was a bit bigger than a clutch but it fit in the basket so I told her she should be good. Security however told her she may not be allowed to take it in and unfortunately when we got to the door she wasn’t able to. Instead of putting it in a locker we walked back to the garage (this time a different way to avoid another incident) so that she could put it in Angel’s vehicle.

Once we arrived back at the venue we got back in line, went in and made our way upstairs to the 200’s level. Our section was 228 row B seats 9-11. By the time we sat down it was maybe 7:15pm and I will say the show began on time (early actually at 6:58pm). The opening act was a guy from American Idol Angel said and then a DJ came out to help hype the crowd up. With Muni Long now being off the tour due to medical reasons I was wondering if they had a replacement for her (maybe Mya). Mya did indeed come out and perform.

It was so good to see Mya perform as she has been in the industry just about as long as Brandy and Monica and many felt as though she should’ve been on the lineup from the beginning. Mya looks amazing and can still perform very well as she sang hit after hit of hers. With her being from DC it was only right that she perform here tonight and it’s official she will permanently be filling in for Muni Long for the remainder of the tour.

Briefly after Mya gets off it was time for Kelly to come onstage. I admittedly don’t know too many Kelly Rowland songs and the unfamiliar ones that I did hear I must say I enjoyed. She comes out to Motivation, does a few of her other songs, sings some verses from infamous Destiny’s Child songs and ends with her verse in Dilemma with Nelly. Watching her perform she held her own (not that I think she couldn’t), her vocals were on point and she was getting those dance moves.

After Kelly there was about a 15 minute intermission in which everyone seemed to scurry towards the bathroom before the main act. When the music stopped and the lights went out we knew it was then time. I have to say that I loved all the visuals that they had for the tour along with the video compilations (it was very creative). Brandy and Monica appear together out of an elevator that rises onstage and they tease the Boy is Mine and then they break off seperately singing a verse and chorus from three of their top songs each (it was a back and forth like it was if you watched the Verzuz).

As the night went on they did a lot of back and forth performing hit after hit after hit. I know the fan in all of us enjoyed the night to the fullest because all you saw and heard were people singing, dancing and having a good time. We soaked in every moment just as they did and we all felt like, “finally.” Throughout the night Brandy got emotional at times and each woman gave the other her flowers. Towards the end of the set they both sat down together and performed some ballads. They ended the night by performing none other than the Boy is Mine.

I have to also give kudos and a shouout to their dancers which were all male and they were killing the moves. They even had a break where they highlighted all of them and they got a chance to come out and show out. The background vocalists were also on point with the vocals and were sangin’ as they say. It was definitely a must see show if you’re looking for a bit of nostalgia and it was worth every penny. The show ended around 10:30pm and the crowd began to disperse.

Though we parked in the only parking garage of the side that we did we knew the rest of the losts were on the other side of the arena and didn’t expect to run into too much traffic (there was some but not a lot). At the busiest intersections were police directing people to keep a flow going. Angel, Lauren and I grabbed a quick selfie and said we’d have to get together again soon. We’re thinking maybe the B2K show next year but it depends on ticket prices (plus I’ve seen them a couple times already). I was home by 11:30pm taking in the moment.