"Tonight is a Feeling"
First of all, I would like to welcome you to the inaugural #TheMindInMotion article series. As someone who is always out and about in the capital city and surrounding areas, #TheMindInMotion was created to cover, review, enlighten and sometimes critic some of the events I attend. I believe this outlet will be beneficial to the creatives doing great things and need a spotlight. I also believe this will benefit the millennial looking for a good time yet something different as well. The goal of this series will be to gift you with places, people and events to check out (and sometimes to avoid). Inspiration comes in the weirdest places sometimes and #TheMindInMotion was birthed at the first event I am covering: An Evening With Shalyric....
An Evening with Shalyric was at Tops Ultra Lounge here in Baton Rouge off of Airline Hwy. This place has been many different things over my 25 years of living in Baton Rouge. However, this was my first time actually going inside the building. Everything was nice once I made it in; you could tell the venue was not really meant for a showcase but they made it work. The wings smelled AMAZING and I can honestly say I was hating as I saw baskets of them float right past me. I am unfortunately on this KETO diet so I could not enjoy me a few pieces but once I am off the diet, I have to go back and get a taste. Overall, I thought the atmosphere was dope; I can tell Tops is definitely for an older crowd but still enjoyable for the young adults as well....
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So lets get to the actual event. First off, the event should have definitely been called "A Night With Shalyric" due to the start time of her performance but I can see why they went with "evening" because it has a more classy, less prerogative feel to it. Oh and no complaints about the start time either because if the event is from 8-12, I kind of expect it to really get popping about halfway in.
The show was hosted by Comedian AO and he was funny as usual. Also, shoutout to him for letting me hit the Hookah outside and for agreeing to comeback on the podcast (@TheHotSpotPod). Shalyric walked in and I instantly received Aaliyah vibes from her style; the girl is gorgeous too. I approached her to meet her for the first time in person. While doing so, my boy Mark Landry (all photos on this post provided by the great Mark) took awkward photos to make it seem like I was trying to shoot my shot when I was just introducing myself (see photo below). I eventually asked her what inspired this event and she told me that she sung in her high school Algebra teacher's wedding and it just so happened that she was one of the owners of Tops. She went on to tell me her old teacher called her up one day and told her she wanted her to come to Tops and entertain one night; ultimately asking "how does an Evening with Shalyric" sound.....
The show was hosted by Comedian AO and he was funny as usual. Also, shoutout to him for letting me hit the Hookah outside and for agreeing to comeback on the podcast (@TheHotSpotPod). Shalyric walked in and I instantly received Aaliyah vibes from her style; the girl is gorgeous too. I approached her to meet her for the first time in person. While doing so, my boy Mark Landry (all photos on this post provided by the great Mark) took awkward photos to make it seem like I was trying to shoot my shot when I was just introducing myself (see photo below). I eventually asked her what inspired this event and she told me that she sung in her high school Algebra teacher's wedding and it just so happened that she was one of the owners of Tops. She went on to tell me her old teacher called her up one day and told her she wanted her to come to Tops and entertain one night; ultimately asking "how does an Evening with Shalyric" sound.....
So how did "An Evening with Shalyric" go Myron?
I can honestly say I was very impressed. I could get the vibe she was a little frustrated by some technical issues before the show but when she got behind the mic, all that went away and she lit up with a smile. That is one of the things I can say stood out to me; I observed her throughout the event as she mixed and mingled with people there but she seemed happiest by far when she was up there singing.
She started her show out with an impromptu cover to get the vibes going as she waited on the final member of her band to arrive. Though unplanned, this part was one of my favorites of the show; as I was watching the audience's reactions to the singing, she hit a note that made me snap my head back toward her with the quickness. The last member of the band eventually showed up and she got her official set started. Shaylric gave me an 90s vibe when I saw her walk into Tops and honestly that reflected in her set. She went through a bunch of covers of some R&B classic showcasing what I think is an amazing voice with a serious falsetto. Her voice reminds me of Coko's from SWV. When she sung those two SWV classics, they sounded just like the original records. The highlight of the evening/night to me was when she covered Beyonce's "Me Myself and I" and beautifully transitioned it to "In My Feelings" by Drake. It was very clever and executed well. The best crowd reaction was when she sung "He Loves Me" by Jill Scott.
Of course, everything was not perfect. Though I enjoyed the performance a lot, there are some things that could have been better. The drummer was ridiculously loud. At one point it felt like he was purposely trying to drown out Shalyric's singing. It got better throughout the night especially after they raised her mic's volume BUT he ruined her SWV cover of "Weak'. She sounded so good singing it acapella to start off but when the band joined in, he sped up the song to a place it should not have went. However, some of the band's chemistry and her being off made a bit of since as she talked about how two of the original band members for the night bailed on her last minute, at the end of her show. I also personally would have liked to hear an original joint by Shalyric. I am not sure if she has all that ready yet but after getting my attention with the covers, it would have been the perfect time to give me something original that I could find on Soundcloud or Apple Music if I liked it.
I can honestly say I was very impressed. I could get the vibe she was a little frustrated by some technical issues before the show but when she got behind the mic, all that went away and she lit up with a smile. That is one of the things I can say stood out to me; I observed her throughout the event as she mixed and mingled with people there but she seemed happiest by far when she was up there singing.
She started her show out with an impromptu cover to get the vibes going as she waited on the final member of her band to arrive. Though unplanned, this part was one of my favorites of the show; as I was watching the audience's reactions to the singing, she hit a note that made me snap my head back toward her with the quickness. The last member of the band eventually showed up and she got her official set started. Shaylric gave me an 90s vibe when I saw her walk into Tops and honestly that reflected in her set. She went through a bunch of covers of some R&B classic showcasing what I think is an amazing voice with a serious falsetto. Her voice reminds me of Coko's from SWV. When she sung those two SWV classics, they sounded just like the original records. The highlight of the evening/night to me was when she covered Beyonce's "Me Myself and I" and beautifully transitioned it to "In My Feelings" by Drake. It was very clever and executed well. The best crowd reaction was when she sung "He Loves Me" by Jill Scott.
Of course, everything was not perfect. Though I enjoyed the performance a lot, there are some things that could have been better. The drummer was ridiculously loud. At one point it felt like he was purposely trying to drown out Shalyric's singing. It got better throughout the night especially after they raised her mic's volume BUT he ruined her SWV cover of "Weak'. She sounded so good singing it acapella to start off but when the band joined in, he sped up the song to a place it should not have went. However, some of the band's chemistry and her being off made a bit of since as she talked about how two of the original band members for the night bailed on her last minute, at the end of her show. I also personally would have liked to hear an original joint by Shalyric. I am not sure if she has all that ready yet but after getting my attention with the covers, it would have been the perfect time to give me something original that I could find on Soundcloud or Apple Music if I liked it.
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Overall, An Evening With Shalyric gets #TheMindInMotion approval. The event was really cool and she is extremely talented. I will definitely pull up to the next one and if love you some 90s R&B vibes, you should too.
If you want The Mind Of Myron to get in motion and check out your event, contact me on social media at @iSpeakThatREAL or @TheMindOfMyron. You can also email me at themindofmyron@gmail.com.
#TheMindInMotion
If you want The Mind Of Myron to get in motion and check out your event, contact me on social media at @iSpeakThatREAL or @TheMindOfMyron. You can also email me at themindofmyron@gmail.com.
#TheMindInMotion
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