CJ Hilton with the camera action!
Sol Village at SOB’s on Wednesday night in NYC was completely and utterly unexpected. That’s what one gets when venturing out to find the next big thing in CMJ week. The trial and error of it all would force some not to bet at all. To, in complete angst of the situation, stay home and turn on the radio, and frolic to the ones that have already made a cut. That would be a sad mistake.
Backed by the band The Collective, veteran Eric Roberson hosted. Among crowd warmers such as singing an impromptu tune with random words picked out by the audience ("pineapple," "crackhead"…), and belting a lady’s digits so that concertgoers could text her, he was well received.
First up was the colorful Yasinabdur. Wearing a neon ensemble, the artist brought in the positivity with “Fighting Love,” and “Angel.” Then, in “Cutthroat,” told the audience to “cut” their haters, or nix them with the hand motion that says “Ixnay.” The stage presence brought an new flavor, but the gear was a clincher.
Candice Anitra broke the mold with punk flavor packaged in a black lace dress. “Boy Crazy” was interesting to say the least, as Candice appeared slightly possessed, rolling her eyes into the back of her head as she sang. To top it off, she performed “Objectify Me,” a subjective song about being a fan of rough bedroom tactics; the title says it all.
When Lauriana Mae hit the stage, the audience was unsuspecting, but the slim and petite blonde-mane bombshell, in one foul swoop, smacked the entire audience with her first word. The sound is a throwback from the flapper era, mixed with a bit of 40’s/50’s groups like The Andrews Sisters. She performed songs including “My Guy” and another knocking boots tune, “Beat It,” before ending with “Shine.”
Bridget Kelly made Roc Nation proud (the fam was in attendance indeed). She performed songs off of her recently released EP, Every Girl. She fits the bill, with hard spitting lyricism that could interchange as a rap-- straight-forward, in your face, and concrete. After “In The Morning”, “Every Girl”, and after “Thinking About Forever,*" she sang the crowd favorite, “Seek and Destroy,” pointing to the audience, singing, “You better not f*** this up/ Or I’ma f*** you up!”
Verse Simmonds brought the appeal with “Buy You A Round (Up and Down)”, crooning “If you’re a single lady let me buy you a round!” Then sang a soulful “Love No Glove”, with a Soul For Real bridge of “Candy Rain.” “Boo Thang” was his last diddy, before he gave the stage to Nikki Jean.
When she hit the stage she took off her boots, and pressed the keyboard pedals with her bare toes. Then she sang “I Only Have Eyes For You” and “Million Star Motel" sans Lupe and Black Thought. Audience participation ruled “La Di Da Di Da” with a folk sound (Slick Rick anyone?*), creating a cross between the local light hits station and throwback classics.
Last but not least CJ Hilton worked an intimate crowd to his advantage, coming down into the audience and having one on one with the ladies. After the break up song "Cold Summer," he asked “Would you leave me?” to each girl in the front…and each giggled fervently and shook her head like a bobble like, “You? Never!” He crooned on his knees with "Tonight" and ended with a “So Fresh” that showed an impressive headliner mentality. End with a bang.
--GIRLBLUESTL, (TR)
*This has been a GB amendment.
