Beautifully joyful, intimate and fun. That is how Jessie Reyez’s sold-out show at the Salt Shed on Sunday night (June15) of Father’s Day for the Chicago stop of her current headlining, PAID IN MEMORIES Tour. Can best be described.
Providing plenty of joyfully fun and intimately great vibes with her joyfully beautiful, intimate and fun performance, Reyez wasn’t the only one to impress the absolutely packed and sold-out intimately newer Chicago stage in the very popular West Town, Chicago area. Which is also housed within the historic area of where Morton Salt previously was before it moved.
As fellow Toronto native RAAHiiM opened with a somewhat short, but great 30-40 minutes or so set. That showed his very soulfully great voice and great abilities as a performer himself as well. His presence on the mic while singing really good and showing the great potential he has to be around for a long time. As just the latest artist from her hometown that Jessie has put on as an opener for one of her tours and helped gain a fan of not only me, but I am sure plenty of others as well after seeing RAAHiiM’s opening performance.
There was a short break before Jessie’s live backing band starting coming out to setup. Who lead by her longtime guitarist, Heather Crawford, started playing to get the sold-out crowd ready. As huge chants of, “Jessie! Jessie!! Jessie!!” Kept erupting from the crowd awaiting her soon very anticipated arrival to the stage. Jessie coming out in all black sunglasses and a white t-shirt that read, Tell Your Dad I Said Hi (only even more hilarious appropriate on Father’s Day), with a pair of short yellow feathery type shorts and black boots. As she went into the very religious, yet still somewhat boastful opening verses she raps and sings on the very cinematic intro, **I NEVER SAID I WAS SANE**, from her most recent album, PAID IN MEMORIES. Getting the crowd involved from the jump singing along every word to **I NEVER SAID I WAS SANE**, **BEGGIN 4 LUV**, **GOLIATH** and **NYB**. Really helped set the joyfully intimate and fun mood that let Jessie and all the packed front to back and up top bananas crowd in attendance at the Salt Shed. Know what a joyfully fun night of singing, dancing and just great purely amazing vibes they were in store for.
As always for any Jessie Reyez show there was a devoted fan base of everyone from various demographics of adults to single women, men, couples and even some parents with their children. That showed even on a holiday like Father’s Day or even any other holiday, her fan base is so dedicated they will always come in droves to her shows and especially in Chicago, which has always been like a second home to her as she mentioned. Saying how people like Chicago’s own King Louie were among the first people in the industry to fully support her and how Chance the Rapper’s hustle for an independent artist has always been a blueprint and inspiration she has followed to help elevate her own hustle as an artist. Jessie also during one part of the show giving love to her father and all the other fathers in the audience or just in general. As her and her Dad did a dance break and hug together before she performed and two-stepped to her very dance centered record, **PALO SANTO**.
Jessie Reyez would then go to the elevated part of the stage asking about what fans are longtime fans of hers right before she went into a very enthusic performance of Fvck It and Shutter Island. That longtime fans roared and with loud enthusiasm sang along the lyrics of, “The goodbyes are getting old. Next time, you can go ahead and go. I’m tired of begging you to love me. Goodness gracious, you’re amazing. According to you, I’m a lucky lady. So I don’t cry to sleep and tie atiedely. Goodness gracious, I’m replaceable. You say that I’m too crazy. I guess you were right. I guess you were right. My straitjacket’scustom-made though. My straitjacket’s custom-made though.” The video that then played of Jessie explaining of how her making the records she has made over the years has been therapeutic and helped her through a lot of bad situations. To which people in the crowd screamed, “We love you Jessie!” Screaming even louder as the very cinematic and dynamic guitar strings to, COFFIN, start playing and Jessie gives a very powerful performance of, COFFIN. The crowd singing so emphatically with her the chorus of, “You make me wanna jump off the roof. ‘Cause I love you to death, just like a fool. I’d rather a coffin, handmade for two. ‘Cause I love you to death, just like a fool. Just like a fool. Just like a fool.”
Jessie would also go through such longtime fan favorites as, IMPORTED. Starting off performing the record before elevating the mic stand to the crowd for them to just sing it since they know the words of all the lyrics just as great, if not better than Jessie for the record. By far one of the highlights of the whole show like it usually is for most Jessie Reyez shows is when she performed her very empowering and powerful record, FIGURES, while also playing the guitar. The crowd so emphatically singing the chorus as if many of them, themselves also lived it. Jessie then letting Heather jam it on guitar as Jessie was coming down from the elevated part of the stage back down to the main stage to sit down to play the piano while giving a moving performance of, Great One.
Getting to the latter end of her performance Jessie acknowledged and waved to fans near the top while singing and giving such a beautifully and moving performance of, Apple Juice. Right into, MUTUAL FRIEND and **L.O.Y.L.** Before then getting political by telling the crowd, “When I say fvck, y’all say ICE. Fvck! Ice! Fvck! Ice! Don’t get political Jessie, don’t get political. I don’t give a fvck. Life is too short.” Then singing her Spanish song, Con el Viento. Which she so powerfully sang. Right before jumping around stage while performing, RIDIN, and you gotta love how Jessie always interacts with her fans at a show. Telling everyone in the crowd singing along to part of the chorus of, “More, please,” for kisses.” Sing, “More please.” As the crowd sings it then telling them to sing it louder! Jessie Reyez going to a very joyous dance break while her drummer plays and Heather jams out on guitar, and then saying, “No sleep.” Which I truly feel that part of the chorus when I have certain late nights with virtually no sleep myself and a lot of us can unfortunately relate to at times more than we want to.
Jessie would close out her set with a stellar performance of **JEANS** and a message of, “Everyone say, Yes Jessie. Yeah. I am strong. I am happy. I am healthy. I am smart as hell. And when I see fvckery. I do not engage. I protect my peace. And it couldn’t be me.” The crowd erupting in roars when they realized that Jessie was going to be performing, **CUDN’T B ME** Starting to sing the chorus, she let the crowd sing it by themselves for a little over a minute before she started singing and performing it. Then leaving the stage or did she?
Nope, Jessie Reyez would come back out and close the show with a very beautifully intimate performance of, STILL C U. Even going down the stage into the pit and by the barricades along the stage singing to and shaking hands of fans. Truly showing how much Jessie realizes her fans and what she referred to at one point during the show as, “her community.” Are truly an intimate part of where she has gotten to and continues to elevate even more as an artist. The perfectly most intimate way to close such a beautifully joyful, fun and intimate night and show from Jessie Reyez. That let her once again showher Chicago fan base how much they truly mean to her as an artist too.