Alicia Keys has so many qualities that she should be featured prominently; the black octagon would say: excess talent. Two more would accompany it: the excess of sequins and the excessive saturation of sound. We know that the musical evolution of recent years has turned downwards, but it’s not even necessary to be so noisy that the armchairs start shaking as if an earthquake had had its epicenter in Villa Crespo.
However, things would go on. the extraordinary task by Alicia Keys and the audience would not have suffered any acoustic trauma; the sound engineer would adjust the levels as the concert progressed, but the damage had already been done.
Curious that the long wait was enlivened by a repertoire of Brazilian music that referred to the times of fusion music, even if it makes sense because Alicia Keys’ style draws on the most varied sounds: hip hop, R&B, jazz, gospel, some rock molecules , well-distilled black pop and generous portions of classical music, which the artist dutifully studied when her talent was revealed to her and set out to dutifully cultivate it.
Her education and training knows the rigors of the classic but that, which could very well be a corset, is the backbone of her style, absolutely unique.
We don’t have to wait long for that to be clear on her show, which she enters unseen though her sequined jumpsuit stands out the most: a strategic fuchsia cloak serves as her invisibility cloak in those minutes at the start. Then, with a feline step, she will go on stage and approach the piano without ever sitting down for the hour and a half of the show.
He prefers to play standing up, with the instrument on a platform, and one of his legs raised to press the damper pedal, which gives him mobility and also looks good.
One effective band and three sections
The band that accompanied her on Sunday night is small but thoroughly effective, which comes in handy to give space to Alicia Keys, who has no problem filling it.
Has charisma, rigor and even sympathy that projects beyond the verbal.
The show was divided into three sections; the former looked more like a catalog of songs from different albums to showcase the wide stylistic range that encompasses his universe.
The second section was where things started to heat up; appealing to the surprise factor, Alicia disappeared as if through a tube to reappear at the back of the stadium, surrounded by keyboards and a Workstation to formulate a repertoire and a game: what will the version be like?
So I would propose and play two options: the original, basically the stripped-down song, just with vocals and keyboards. or the version unlocked (Unlocked, a pun on his artistic surname, which means “keys”), where he played with the Workstation and proposed an augmented and programmed sound, which he interrupted with a siren.
It was fun and divergent digital karaoke that blew up when he finished it with an amazing rendition of Empire of reasonthe song that is like a declaration of love to her native New York, and one of the themes for which Keys has already gone down in history.
With the audience already completely melted and also unlockedAlicia walked around the stadium (with several security men clearing her way), ushering in the hit section that included Girl on Fire, superwoman and that modern and futuristic gospel called fallingto finish with an ancient cover of Crystal Waters, the remembered gypsy.
Then, without warning, Cazzu, the trap singer of Jujuy, entered the stage, which Keys wrapped up and entrusted her with the lead role in underdog. There was no applause when she entered, as a surprise, and it was noted that the Keys audience did not know Cazzu, the undisputed figure of current urban music, but the applause that Jujueña received was due to her merit and not for previous fame. .
It should also be said that La jefa (as Cazzu is known), showed her pregnancy on stage.
The obligatory finale before the encores was perhaps the real hit in Alicia Keys’ repertoire: Nobodyfighting for the title with what was the last song of the night, If I don’t have you.
Nothing is a coincidence
90 million records sold is no fluke; Alicia Keys he is one of the most important artists of the new millennium and showed its category in the Buenos Aires bullring.
The octagon is well placed: excess talent. Yes, but well distributed; His mastery lies in the management of his superpowers, because he sings with the right virtuosity, his songs avoid clichés, his fingers do not fall in the rush of speed with which a classical pianist can amaze, and at the same time offers a varied show where black tradition and modern sounds can coexist in the same universe without the need for translation.
And labeling would also be redundant.
WD extension
Source: Clarin
