The Beats Summer Music Series has kicked into full gear and the latest installment brought us one of the more attractive lineups yet with more local talent to showcase Chicago’s diversity in both culture and sound. To top it off, Reebok once again adorned the table tops at Red Kiva with their iconic Reebok Pumps kicks. What better way to celebrate music than alongside iconic kicks!
The theme of the night, as reflected by the diverse lineup of musical performers, must have been “genre-bending” as each one of the bands/artists that performed that night blended different genres to define their group’s sound. The vibe at Red Kiva was very chill, with people from all ranges of the city in attendance, intermingling and having a good time. Before the musical acts kicked off their sets, the crowd enjoyed interacting with the various sponsors and their products. Without a doubt, this edition of BEATS only became more fun and entertaining as the night’s performers hit the stage.
The O’My’s:
Hands down, this performance was the highlight of the evening! For good reason, the opening act received the accolades of the crowd present for their set. The young Chicago band brought their brand of Rock Soul to rock the house in true funky fashion and to much approval from all of us in attendance. The band itself shows no respect for the boundaries supposedly held between musical genres and instead mixed in Rock, Soul, Funk, and a bit of Blues to make their own brand of music to great result. Their lead singer, Maceo Haymes, took center stage sounds sounded like a contemporary mix of Otis Redding and James Brown with his raspy voice and funk-tinged singing style with an undeniable stage presence. The rest of the O’My’s were just as lively and matched Haymes’ energy easily and truly brought the house down with their collective performance.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knk6KyNcgek&feature=plcp]
Tony Baines:
@bainesgod
Without a doubt, Tony Baines is one great producer. Much to his dismay and ours, the setup at Red Kiva did not house the proper equipment for Baines to create beats for those of us in attendance. Several attempts to make good with the situation were eventually abandoned as Baines understood that he simply could not put on a proper show with the setup. Had Red Kiva had all that Tony Baines needed to perform his set, we surely would have been on for a great show.
As many of us who have seen Dave Coresh perform live, he’s not a fan of idle crowds. This night, I was caught not really giving out the good vibes and Coresh called me out on it. In my defense, I was Instagram’ing pics of the performance, but it served as a good reminder to all of us in attendance that we were to witness a Hip Hop show and not just having some background music. Dave Coresh filled Red Kiva with an overwhelming energy which was contagious enough to have those of us in attendance jump and sing along to the music. Their set lived up to expectations, filled with good music, tons of energy, and a backflip. Check out one of the night’s performances below.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiRwCUsoEWo&feature=plcp]
Make sure to follow us on YouTube for all of the live footage we’ve taken at BEATS.
Check out some pictures of that evening’s performances: Flickr Coverage of BEATS
Be on the lookout for more of the BEATS Summer Series as each event provides good music and entertainment.
[vimeo http://www.http://vimeo.com/46787282]
