Friday Jams 2017
22nd October 2017
Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Bridget Herlihy. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
It is a fairly good indicator that summer is just around the corner when the onslaught of music festivals kicks off. Each year the public is more and more spoiled for choice as a wider range of multi-artist events emerges, and the summer of 2017/18 is no different with the inaugural Friday Jams party kicking off a mammoth summer of music in fine style. Less than a year since its inception ZM’s end-of-the-working week tribute to old-school artists of the RNB persuasion, Friday Jams, has amassed a massive following. For some of the older members of the audience, it must have been slightly disconcerting that tracks released in the first decade of the new millennium are now considered to be ‘old school’. On the upside, these classic tracks are appealing to a whole new generation, and continue to resonate as much now as they did then. And for the older punters, it proved to be a very enjoyable and entertaining walk down the proverbial memory lane. Touted as NZ’s biggest RNB party, Friday Jams certainly lived up to the hype right from the get-go.
Christina Milian had the honor of being the first performer of the evening. It was somewhat surprising that her set was so brief, given that she was introduced to a new generation of RNB enthusiasts having featured in her own reality show for the E! network for two seasons. Yet she crammed a lot into a small space of time. Without any hesitation, Milian took the stage in hot red bustier and lace jumpsuit, flanked by two backup dancers who shadowed her for the duration of the set. Opening with dance track AM to PM from her debut self-titled album, the pint-sized songstress strutted across the stage sounding in fine form. Before long everyone was duly waving their hands in the air, and those in the seated areas were on their feet dancing. A rendition Say I from her second album was quickly followed by When You Look At Me, before she introduced new track Like Me. Classic track Dip It Low was met with rapturous screams as the arena continued to rapidly fill. After cramming six tracks into a brief fifteen minute set, ending on Hello, Milian proclaimed her love for the audience and after a quick thank you she was gone.
Next on the line-up was Mario, which was probably just as well as the sheer mention of his name set many ladies in the arena off into frenzied screams. Looking very dapper in an all white ensemble and sunglasses, Mario strutted on stage and immediately bust out several classic break dancing moves, which of course brought on another round of ecstatic squeals. Opening with You Love It, Mario delivered a set of hits that spanned his career. After an impressive performance of Stuttering he dropped the tempo and perched on a stool, pausing to tell the crowd that they were beautiful and that he had chosen them, before, of course, launching into ballad I Choose You. Encouraging the audience to hold ups their phones the arena was lit up with thousands of phones waving in the air which made for a magical sight, a magical sight, until Mario had to remind the lighting guy to turn on his spotlight. Pausing only to take his sunglasses off for the first time, the set closed with the track that first brought him worldwide attention, Let Me Love You. At one point in the song the screams of the crowd were so loud that it drowned out his vocals, which increased as Mario ended his set by bring a dozen red roses on stage and throwing them out into the adoring audience.
No sooner had Mario left the stage than Fatman Scoop, the man with a distinctively loud and deep voice, made his first appearance of the evening. The enigmatic Scoop took on the coveted role of MC for the evening. Having collaborated with the likes of Michael and Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Pitbull and Skrillex, he undoubtedly has the credentials, and his banter served his MC duties well as he whipped the near-capacity crowd into a joyous frenzy as he called for some lucky ladies to come onstage and dance with him. A dozen rather nervous ladies emerged and were instructed to dance to Destiny Child’s Bootylicious, which was no mean feat in front of a massive audience. DJ Horizon then arrived behind the turntables to play the ‘old school’ top 30 Countdown, with accompanying videos playing on the screen behind, kicking off with TLC’s No Scrubs, and Tupac’s California Love. A great way to keep the audience engaged and entertained during set changes.
New York native Kelis requires no introduction. Along with her DJ Nikki Beatnik, a blonde Kelis arrived on stage to loud cheers in a fierce red ensemble and impressive Louboutin silver boots. Kicking off the set with Millionaire from her third album Tasty, Kelis laid down the groove that she rode for the duration of her set. Trick Me, also from Tasty, saw Kelis really come alive, as she danced and shimmied, showing the audience how it is really done. Kelis is a class act, holding the audience’s attention with heavy beats, silky smooth vocals and even smoother moves, with a range of psychedelic visuals playing in the screen behind her. Needless to say classic anthem Milkshake had the entire arena on their feet and faithfully singing along to every word. Kelis played a non-stop flawless set of tracks new and old, barely pausing to take a breath. Ending on a high with a supurb rendition of Acapella from 2010’s Flesh Tone, and after an obligatory selfie with the crowd, the lady in red exited stage left.
And from stage right returned Fatman Scoop, instructing the crowd “whatever I say y’all gotta do”. And they duly obliged, as they followed instructions and waved their hands. As the beats dropped Scoop was off jumping around the stage and busting out his best dance moves like a man possessed, before taking the crowd through a vocal rendition of Seven Nation Army. Suffice to say Scoop has the enviable talent of not only hyping the crowd but keeping them amped. Almost the entire arena was on their feet, and the atmosphere was unlike anything I have seen at the arena before; it was one of pure joy as thousands came together to celebrate a shared love of all things RNB. I don’t think I have ever witnessed a crowd as energetic and lit as this one, in no small part thanks to Scoop’s antics. Then DJ Horizon was back to continue his countdown as the stage was transformed, with a full band’s worth of equipment rolling out on two risers.
With a brief pause following his introduction to the stage, the screams erupted again as the suave Ne-Yo appeared on stage. Complete with live band, the Las Vegas based singer songwriter he captured and commanded everyone’s attention from the moment he walked on stage. Opening with So Sick from his debut album In My Own Words, Ne-Yo delivered a stunning set of material spanning his career, moving back and forth across the stage with his distinctive and enviable moves and swagger. Ag one point the crowd were duly treated to a quick flash of his impressive set of abs, much to their delight, and after and wiping his torso down with a t-shirt, he threw it into the crowd. The ‘lucky’ recipient, a young woman in the front row, promptly buried her face in it. A member of the crowd then took it upon themselves to throw a protein bar at Ne-Yo (not that the needs it) who picked it up, saying he would save it for later. It appears that the throwing of underwear has become passé; now apparently NZ audiences throw food in appreciation. You have got to love that Kiwi ingenuity. Slowing down the tempo with Mad, and unbuttoning a single button of his shirt was met with another onslaught of shrieks. He paused part way through the song to say seeing as it was his first time in NZ he wanted to make sure that the audience knew that he was not just a singer but also a songwriter, asking if the crowd if they knew he also written a particular song, before singing the first chorus of Beyoncé’s Irreplaceable. He then introduced a new track, the reggae-laced Push Back, hand-picking two young ladies from the audience to come up on stage for a dance off. No doubt much to the envy of a majority of the crowd, they were given the illustrious honour of grinding up against the man himself. Congratulations to contestant one, although both ladies claimed their prize by taking slight advantage of Ne-Yo. As they walked offstage he joked that he thought he might now be pregnant. A second new track, ballad Good Man, was played complete with an impressive guitar solo. Ne-Yo is consummate performer; he is so suave it is almost impossible to take one’s eyes of him; the audience was captive to his charms. An energetic performance of Closer was followed by another new track, Another Love Song. Everything saw vertical smoke machines blasting plumes of smoke towards the ceiling in time with the crescendo. Last but better no means least, Ne-Yo ended with Time Of Our Lives, as another shirt and his trademark hat were thrown into the crowd. He exited the stage with the same swagger with which he arrived, proclaiming it may have been his first time in NZ, but it definitely would not be his last.
Also on his first trip to NZ, British singer/songwriter/DJ Craig David graciously opened his set, entitled Craig David and TS5. Although it has been 17 years since the then 19 year old Craig David released his debut album Born To Do It, he has remained once of the UK’s most popular RNB artists. The TS5 concepts originated in David’s home in Miami, where he would host and DJ weekly parties, gatherings which quickly grew traction and a dedicated following, and reproducing the intimate atmosphere of his house parties in larger venues for appreciative audiences. Opening with Re-Wind (The Crowd Say Bo-Selecta), David was onstage all on his lonesome, playing beats from his own onstage mixing setup, and singing along. Like a modern karaoke setup without the cringe factor, he mixed his own material with a plethora of samples from other RNB artists, like TLC’s No Scrubs, and impressive renditions of Walking Away and Tonight Is Your Night over alternate samples, or what he refers to as “TS5 styles”. TS5, he explained, is about “flexing up some tunes” by putting a new spin on them. David’s set was an example of expert multi-tasking. And it was evident he was enjoying himself, smiling and dancing through the entire set. His vocals remain just as sweet as they were when he dropped his first album at the beginning of the new millennium. He also put his lyrical prowess with some of the quickest and impressive MC skills imaginable. Repeatedly expressing his gratitude for the adoration from the crowd, he waxed lyrical about his musical journey, breaking into ‘new’ track 16, from his forthcoming album The Time Is Now, which is essentially a reworking Fill Me In with updated beats and a new chorus of “I’ve been doing this since I was 16”. It is an impressive example of an artist introducing older music to a while new audience under the guise of new music. Craig David is the real deal, and without a doubt an incredibly gracious performer.
Last, but by no means least, was the king of dancehall rhythms, Sean Paul. Hailing from Kingston, Jamaica, Paul upped the ante with a live band, DJ, back-up dancers, accompanying visuals, pyrotechnics and the entire arena back up on their feet, determined to dance for as long as they possibly could. Also on his first outing to NZ, Paul proclaimed “tonight we have a lot of work to do”, before the video to Sia’s Cheap Thrills began to play on the screen, with Paul performing his parts over the top. He repeatedly promised to make up not coming to NZ earlier, and thanked the crowd for their continued support of his music. The fact that he then chose to play a cover of Ed Sheeran’s Shape of You was somewhat puzzling, but the crowd lapped it up. One of the most impressive features of the set was the two backup dancers who didn’t stop moving for the entirety of the set, managing to contort their bodies in a plethora of ways all the while maintaining rhythmic prowess. Paul then brought out fellow Jamaican musicial artist Chi Ching Ching for Crick Neck and Rock Da World that had the seemingly tireless crowd dancing with reckless abandon. Triumphantly ending the set with the hot and heavy Trumpets and Temperature, Paul disappeared from view as his MC thanked the crowd and promised to return to NZ in the future. And then somewhat abruptly the house lights came on, and sadly it was all over.
Friday Jams set out to be New Zealand’s biggest dance party. They not only succeeded, but they also surpassed expectations. Not only was it a massive line-up, a majority of which had not previously performed in NZ, but the crowd appeared to love every single minute of it. No doubt there will be hundreds of Friday Jams enthusiasts nursing sore feet today. This was, without a doubt, one of the most memorable shows of 2017, and I sincerely hope that the Friday Jams Party will be back for another epic round in 2018.
Christina Milian:
Mario:
Kelis:
Ne-Yo:
Craig David:
Sean Paul:
Were you there at Spark Arena for this fun festival of RnB hits? Or have you seen any of the acts perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Christina Milian Setlist:
- AM to PM
- Say I
- When You Look At Me
- Like Me
- Dip It Low
- Hello
Mario Setlist:
- You love it
- Just A Friend
- This is a beautiful life
- How Do I Breathe
- Stuttering
- I Choose You
- Let Me Love You
Kelis Setlist:
- Millionaire
- Good Stuff
- Caught Out There
- Got Ya Money
- Trick Me
- Fire
- Milkshake
- Nirvana
- Bounce
- 4th of July
- Acapella
Ne-Yo Setlist:
- So Sick
- She Knows
- Mess Independent
- Because Of You
- Sexy Love
- One In A Million
- Mad
- Irreplaceable
- Good Man
- Push Back
- Turn Up
- Closer
- Another Love Song
- Play Hard
- Give Me Everything
- Time Of Our Lives
Craig David Setlist:
- Re-wind (The Crowd Say Bo-selecta)
- Fill Me In
- When The Baseline Drops
- Walking Away (still Dre)
- Tonight Is Your Night (remix)
- Jump Around (House of Pain cover)
- Heartline
- What’s Your Flavour
- Wild Thoughts/Music Sounds Better With You (mash up)
- Show Me Love
- Nothing Like This
- All The Way/Seven Days
- 16
Sean Paul Setlist:
- Come On To Me
- Get Busy
- Got 2 Luv U
- Cheap Thrills
- Baby Boy
- Bailando
- Shape Of You
- Breathe
- Like Glue
- Rockabye
- No Lie
- Volcano
- Gimme The Light
- Crick Neck
- Rock Di World
- Turn Down For What
- Trumpets
- Temperature
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