Kali Uchis + Jorja Smith @ The Greek 5/14/19
Two of music’s most recently captivating chanteuses took their tour to LA’s famed Greek Theatre, and caught me by surprise.
I say this for two reasons primarily. One, I am not the biggest Jorja Smith fan – not a hater by any means, but the tunes don’t exactly do it for me. Two, my experience with Kali Uchis at the Shrine ranks among the worst shows I’ve seen, but that largely stems from the Shrine being a venue only certain acts can play well.
However, the Greek’s open amphitheatre proved effective for these two singers, who both impressed the crowd with their chops. Though Smith and Uchis each released popular albums in 2018, they never limited their material to just those LPs. Opener Smith dove into most of Lost and Found, but included a surprising cover of Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam”. Further evidence of her good taste came with the closing one-two of “Blue Light” followed by the Preditah hit “On My Mind”. Smith kept her theatrics low, preferring to allow her band to riff and shine in their own way, but her husky voice carried her through the set with ease.
Uchis soon followed, appearing in a glittering catsuit atop a set of circular, descending platforms. With her face covered in a chic net (maybe that’s what it’s called), she sang her ass off, far better than what I remembered at the Shrine. In addition to cuts from Isolation and her Por Vida EP, Uchis presented covers of Radiohead, Don Omar, and Pharrell. To further invigorate her performance, Tyler, the Creator and Steve Lacy appeared to perform “After the Storm” and “Just a Stranger” respectively. Overall, Uchis delivered more so in her solo performance, but the true magic started at the end.
For the finale, both singers took to the stage for renditions of everyone’s favorite divas of the past 20 years. Beginning with Erykah Badu, they segued from there into “Stronger Than Me”, appropriate considering Smith’s comparisons to the late Amy Winehouse. A Destiny’s Child mashup felt just as fun, and amped the audience for the true finale of “Tyrant”.
Not only did this performance surprise me with their talent, but it also revealed the possible ways in which live music may happen in the future. Instead of a single act headlining, groups of performers will take the stage a la Charli XCX’s famed Pop 2 events. To further sweeten the deal, acts each take turns performing throwback jams from the ’90s and ’00s, essentially becoming the dad rock cover bands of the new millenia. Hey, if it means we get to hear some Amerie, Estelle, or Ciara throwbacks at functions, I’m all in.