Last summer, I fell in love. Summer was a very emotional and vulnerable time in my life. I just experienced my first real death, I just finished performing on Warped Tour, and there were many realizations I needed to come to terms with. In my hardest, darkest times, music has always been there for me. On a beautiful summer day, one of my favorite artists, Aminé, released his debut album, and boy was I bounding with excitement for the release. I knew him from his call to fame, so I was ecstatic to see if his album held up to the singles he had been putting out prior. To my absolute delight, from the first note of “Veggies” to the last hit in “Heebiejeebies”, I find myself slowly but surely finding one of those golden albums you can never ever get sick of. Before I knew it, I had found a new addition to the plethora of musical best friends.
And although I loved just the experience of listening to every last bit this album presented, I still felt something missing. Then…
I was saved. The sun began to shine, the birds began to sing, my crops were flourishing. I knew the reason I was put on this earth was to go to this concert. I saw that the GA tickets were $51, and VIP Meet and Greet tickets doubled at $102. I took the liberty of finding a way to buy these M&G tickets, and it was the first time I ever used my own money to pay for a concert. I put up a ton of old clothes I didn’t wear to pay for my ticket and managed to sell a jacket for $140, just days before the concert. I was in.
Excited is an understatement for how I was feeling about this concert. I was having daydreams about how amazing this concert would be, and meeting him was truly just the cherry on top. Then came the day of the concert. I went straight from school to the venue, and waited in line, in the rain, for it to be time to go in and meet Aminé. We all got let in and after a couple of minutes, he came out and got in place for us to meet him. The venue and number of people there to meet him weren’t too large, which in my opinion made the whole experience more intimate and memorable. Our interaction was very short and to the point. I asked him if he had beef with Baby Spice (a reference to a line in ”Spice Girl”), to which he said there was none. I snapped a quick photo with him, and with that I was content. After, I snaked my short self up against the barricade the show began.
How can I describe the show to someone who’s never been to an Aminé concert? Well, the best way to describe Aminé’s genre is it makes you wanna:
- Fall in love (“Dakota”)
- Break some hearts (“Wedding Crashers”)
- Dance until your feet give out (“REDMERCEDES”)
Not only do his songs alone deliver that, but his performance had my jaw grazing the ground. From his energy on stage to the slowed down, soulful remixes of his songs, to the self-love he provided for those who otherwise might not think they were worthy of it with a call and response of “YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL” “I KNOW!”. My heart stayed in that venue and I never got it back. It was the first concert I ever attended where I have minimal of what went down, and I can say with 100% confidence that it was the hands down the best concert I’ve ever attended. It was the first concert I had to work for. The first show I paid for out of my own pocket with no other assistance and this fact alone made attending so much sweeter. Creative influences like Aminé are what inspire me to create and present my art, and continues to be my inspiration to one day have the presence and confidence he has on stage when performing. For anybody who’s even slightly interested in going to one of his shows, DO IT. GO. SAVE UP MONEY. ROB A BANK. GET INTO ONLINE POKER. DO WHAT IT TAKES SO YOU CAN EXPERIENCE THE ABSOLUTE MAGIC OF ADAM AMINE DANIEL AND HIS BEAUTIFUL WORLD. YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL! YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL! YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!
