experiences and comments about music, life and then some
Bar none, this was the best live performance I have ever been to. John Legend straight up ripped The Docks last night, and it was well worth the 36 bucks I paid TicketMaster...Bastards with their fees.
Me and Sansha bimmed down the 404 in order to get in line early. It was general admission and we wanted to get up close. The doors opened at 8, so we wanted to be there around 7 - 7:30. We wasted a lot of time trying to look for directions on her computer which was riddled with viruses and shit. We just gave up and went down with some general directions. After a few u-turns and three point turns, we parked and lined up. We were near the beginning of the line and we waited for the doors to open.
The night was cold, plus we were steps from the lake. In fact, we were so close, we could smell the putrid stench of raw sewage floating on top of the city's water supply. As I looked around the line, I saw a multicultural audience. Old and young people eagerly awaited John's arrival. Sansha joked that the video for "Ordinary People" gave non-blacks a chance to be accepted at his concert. hahahahahaha.
The doors opened a bit after eight, and they slowly let us in. We thought we would be near the back, but when we got in, there was only a crowd about 2 people deep in front of the stage. We hurried to the center of the crowd and waited for the main event. This tall guy brushed pass us, and I thought he was going to go closer but the fucker just stood in front of me.
Sansha was like, "What the fuck? Why did he fully stand in front of you like you weren't standing there?" I was like, "I have no fucking idea... Plus I can't even see the fucking stage." The guy looked at me and apologized, but then turned around and spoke to his friend. So, Sansha and I started talking shit about him, then the guy let us go in front of him. Bastard.
At 9pm, we saw this guy come out with a guitar. I thought he was a sound check guy, but then this fool started to sing. I was like, "fuck a duck" and bowed my head in apathy. He was singing his little heart out, and the crowd wanted to listen to the DJ spin some ole school jams. He shouted out that he was CHI TURNER from Vancouver, and the people of Toronto weren't as bad as he expected. WTF? You want a response for that? How about take your hippie ass off the stage before I fuck you up like they did NAT TURNER!
Eventually he left, and then we saw some more of a band come on stage. Everyone got excited since it could be John's band, but it was not to be. This cute guy came out and started to sing in front of the keyboard. He said that he was MATISSE and his band was called THE PLAYGROUND. The music was aight, but true say I didn't pay to hear THEIR asses, I wasn't too interested. Midway through their set, they started playing some Motown standards and that got the crowd movin. The only thing that pissed me and Sansha off was the fact MATISSE would shout out, "Who wants to hear JOHN LEGEND?" The crowd would scream, and then the fucker would play another shit ass song. BAH!
Anyway, that dude came off the stage, and I shouted out, "Finally. Recess is over" (since the band was called "the playground") That witty remark got a few laughs... I was reaching too. hahaaha. The DJ started spinning some nice tunes, and girls were singing along like it was American/Canadian Idol. It was funny since it reminded me of a joke my friend told me before. I am tone-deaf and blind, and I can ruin many a song. I was singing something off the radio, and my friend asked me who sang it. I answered and she said, "OK. Let it stay that way". hahahahhahahaha. These bitches were catawauling through all the songs like a group of mating geese. hahahaha
A bit after 10pm, JOHN LEGEND came out and the place went off. The dude got like a 30 minute screaming cacophony of girls and equally impressed dudes. He went straight into "Let's Get Lifted" and he was jamming on the keys. I was soo close, I swear I felt the sweat that he shook off his head. This bitch behind me was slowly getting on me and Sansha's nerves. Every second, she would be pushing through the crowd or some other shit. As soon as John started to sing, she was riding my ass like Seabiscuit, and I refused to let her get in front of us.
John went into "Alright", then "She Don't Have to Know". The same "jockeying" bitch behind me kept screaming into my left ear, "I love you, John" every time the music stopped. John gave her no acknowledgement and me and Sansha laughed. The dumb wench starts talking to her friends about how she brought her demo and how she is going to give it to John. STFU BITCH! Why the fuck is he going to give some groupie hoe like you a chance? The only shit you're good at is using your mouth to give hummers.
He definitely knew how to work the crowd and kept up a good amount of conversation. His song selections ran into each other seamlessly and the band was on point. After "She Don't Have to Know", he said how he had some excuses for cheating, which lead into "Number One". That song makes me laugh, and I knew all the words. Me and Sansha were sooo extra hyped up than the rest of the front row. He looked over at us and smiled. I AM NOT DELUSIONAL...JOHN LEGEND WAS LOOKING AT US THROUGHOUT THE CONCERT. I know that makes me look like a crazy fan, but I ain't blind either. He wasn't looking at the hoe behind me or the little, confused Asian chicks in front of me. He was looking straight at US since we knew all the words to the songs. He then sang, "I Can Change" and took a little break.
The back up singers were lyve, but one of them did not dress properly and it pissed me off. Why are you wearing a beige halter top, with a backless back, and wearing a super duper WONDERBRA? I could see that fucking SEARS ROEBUCK special everytime she did a little jig, and I questioned her common sense. Anyway, John was sweating like a slave by then, and he used his towel after every song. I wanted him to throw that shit so I could catch it and sleep with it that night. hahahaha. He sang "Ordinary People" next, and the whole place was singing along. I debated waving my cellphone in the air, but I reconsidered thankfully. hahahaha. John sounded soo fucking good, better than his album... straight goods. He sang, "So High", and "It Don't Have to Change", then "Refuge (When It's Cold Outside) to finish it up.
He always said the entire time that he loves it up in Toronto, and that we always showed him much love. He said anytime that he plans a tour, he always makes sure that he comes through. John gets big props for that shit, because I'm sick of Toronto getting passed up for Jacksonville or Buffalo. Toronto is a major ass city, we ain't some backwater suburb.
John left the stage and said that if we never screamed loud enough, he wasn't coming back out. I knew that if dude left without singing, he would see a new side of Toronto (re: Toronto International Reggae Festival). The drummer threw a drumstick out to the crowd, and Sansha caught it. I never laughed so hard in my fucking life. Sansha is soo short and out of all people, her little ass grabbed it. The drummer signed it, but we wanted something from John too. I told her that we had the memories, and she laughed at my sentimental ass. After another minute of a eardrum popping crescendo of sound, dude came out and bust out "Visions" by Stevie Wonder. His band killed this shit, and they were jamming for at least six minutes on this song. He ripped into another song, "Sun Comes Up" from his independent LP. Crazy song, y'all need to cop that too.
Anyway, he played non-stop for at least two hours, and left the crowd wanting more. He gave us at least 100% and I enjoyed every minute of the experience. As Sansha and I hobbled to our car in our stilettos, we reminisced about the spectacular performance, and wished that we brought a camera. Sansha commented that she was surprised that I never knocked out the bitch that was jooking my ass the entire show. I laughed and told her that I would have under normal circumstances, but I never wanted John to have a bad impression of me. We laughed at my lame excuse, and drove back to Scarborough singing along to John's smooth vocals...
Starfoxx writes regularly at starfoxx15.blogspot.com
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