Big Lights Will Inspire You
Sometimes I forget just why I fell in love with New York City in the first place. The edginess morphs into a general meanness, and the urban sprawl transforms to plain dirty. So on 3/17, “when the world got [me] feeling low,” I was looking forward to the little pick-me-up I had planned. Like any other single girl in her 20s, I donned my best green, drank a big bottle of water and marched straight to Madison Square Garden for an Alicia Keys concert. (The water was to help my vocal chords with all the singing, obviously).
Immediately after stepping out, I planted the heel of my black pump directly into a fresh pile of vomit. Happy St. Patty’s Day to me! “Concrete jungle” is right. After looking around quickly to see what cute boys had noticed (none, thankfully), I shook it off (literally) and strutted bravely on. Then, in a classic case of New Yorkers in a hurry, I dropped my bills into a mailbox on the way, realizing afterwards it was already so stuffed that my envelopes only made it a third of the way in. I reached my arm down to retrieve them and my fingers just clasped the edges, when I noticed a crowd of people had actually stopped to see what I was doing. What does it look like? “Just ‘wait to you see my smile,’” I thought. “Clearly, I’m harmless!”
Arriving at the venue, I knew Alicia and her positive messaging was just what I needed to bring me up. But I was disappointed by the heavy-hitting political settings of her first few songs. Before she appeared on-stage, sounds of war played and violent, though artistic, images were shown. She entered amidst swirling smoke and in a cage encased in chains, singing a medley of “Caged Bird” and “Love is Blind.” One of her openers, “Fallin’” was accompanied by communist paraphernalia on screens and the words “Rise Up.” Where’s the love?
This lasted only a short time before Alicia stepped away from the political theme and focused on messages of “freedom,” (the name of her tour), which she said comes from believing in self. She rocked it out in the way she does best, singing her soul out while playing along on her piano. And what a beautiful, distinctive voice she has. When she sang out, “Superwoman,” I felt like myself again. Amazing how music can move you. And that’s when I remembered one of the first times New York City set my heart on fire – listening to a lone saxophonist jam away in Washington Square Park . It’s one of the best places in the world for live music. Period.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get better, Alicia launched into “Put It In a Love Song,” and Beyonce descended down the staircase! Of course, Jay-Z performed “Empire State of Mind” for the finale (though only after they tricked us with an imposter starting off the song first). Two surprise guest appearances in one night? Only in New York.
As Alicia said, have confidence in yourself and what you love, and the rest will fall into place. And New York, I love ya, baby! “These streets will make you feel brand new, there’s nothing you can’t do…”
