Finally! Alicia Keys is back in Switzerland. “An Evening with… Alicia Keys” – that was the name of the two evenings of Baloise Session. I had the honor of being at the 2nd show and experiencing the incredible voice of Alicia Keys. Last time I saw her she was still wearing her hair in a short bob and put on quite some make up, now she’s killing it with beautiful long colorful braids and barely any make up at all 🙂
The night before, the New Yorker singer already showed the Basel crowd what good music is. She didn’t disappoint us either – it was a great evening, filled with amazing vibes and so many emotions. But before Alicia Keys got on stage, it was another New Yorker that took the stage. Annie Goodchild, who now lives in Basel, performed her songs and warmed up the crowd for the main act. Her voice, smooth and so much soul – she was great! You can find the pictures of her set over here: Annie Goodchild @Baloise Session
Alicia Keys and her piano
During the first couple of songs you can tell that Alicia Keys isn’t just an incredibly gifted singer, but she also still kills it on the piano. While she runs across the stage from left to right, she always goes back to the piano and shows us her talent! In general, the music seems almost flawless. What did catch my eye (and ears) immediately, there were no drums… At all… All the beats were produced by Andre „DJ Dummy“ Smith. Not sure yet if I liked that or not. But honestly, it doesn’t matter, the music was great either way!
It’s the mix that makes the show great
The setlist was wonderfully mixed and diverse, just like Alicia Keys latest album “Here” is too. Every now and then you could clearly hear the classical training she’s had, but then there are the dope RnB beats or bluesy and jazzy melodies and just a little later great Brazilian rhythm. One song that stuck with me, especially because of the beats, was „Pawn it All“. But why don’t you have a listen:
Even though most of the people probably were waiting for the great hits, Alicia Keys already won over many of the people in the venue. The area in front of the stage was taken over by the fans in no time. After taking pictures, we had to jump over in front of one of the tables to not be trampled by the fans 😀 Obviously the mood up there was already very good, the rest of the audience followed shortly after. After a couple of songs you could see how many stood up to cheer and applaud (oh hello standing ovation) and never sat back down.
And suddenly they were all standing!
Of course, towards the end of the show, all the big hits were dished up. After „If I Ain’t Got You“ pretty much everyone was getting up from their chairs. But, unfortunately I still had a few grumpy people around me. No reactions to any of the songs, no dancing or even head bopping. Nothing. After a while I really couldn’t sit still anymore (how do people do that anyways) and got up. I stood a in front of my chair but below the stairs, so the people behind me were still able to see – so at least I wasn’t the reason to make them any more grumpy.
Alicia announced her song „Blended Family (What you do for love)“ . A song that “inspired by family’s journey to cultivate compassion, support and love”. An absolutely beautiful song! Then following In Common and some more Brazilian tunes, more of her big hits came out: Girl on Fire, No One and Empire State of Mind. By this time, everyone was up on their feet. Even the older man next to me jumped up and came to dance beside me. While the last tunes of Empire State of Mind were still playing, Alicia Keys left the stage, but then came back for the encore song “Illusion of Bliss” – for me personally an interesting choice, as the mood was on its highest level after Empire State of Mind but then went down a little with this more calm and quiet song. But either way, it was a great show for sure!
Unfortunately, this was also the last show for me at Baloise Session. A little sad but I’m also looking forward to next year, now more than ever. This really is a very special festival with an incomparable atmosphere!
Konzertbilder: Alicia Keys @ Baloise Session 2017
Yep, usually this is the place were you’d find some pictures of the show. Sometimes there are artists that want to approve pictures before they go online, so unfortunately at this point we are still waiting to have our pics to be approved by the management. Of course we will inform you as soon as they’re up. Thanks for understanding.
Image source: Baloise Session
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