Tori Kelly w/ Us the Duo at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (11 Jun 15)
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06/18/15 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts
06/19/15 Silver Spring, MD Fillmore Silver Spring 06/20/15 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club 06/23/15 New York, NY Best Buy Theater 06/30/15 Toronto, ON Phoenix Concert Theatre 07/05/15 Finsbury Park “Wireless Festival” 07/30/15 Hillsboro, OR Washington County Fair
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Rising singer-songwriter Tori Kelly brought a sold-out Varsity Theater down, with a spanning 90 min set, to an audience filled with plenty of her own super fans (the “Unbreakables”) and a very special guest in the balcony.
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Us the Duo
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Another act currently catching good buzz, the husband-and-wife Us the Duo opened the evening first, with a brief, but fun 28min. set. Like Tori Kelly, Michael and Carissa Rae Alvarado have taken advantage of 21st century technology to get noticed and signed; in their case, experimenting on Vine with 6-second cover songs.
That and YouTube videos have led to their debut full-length, No Matter Where You Are (Republic Records) and they showcased a few of those original songs, along with a cover medley that made them first famous on this, their last tour stop with Kelly.
The pair began side by side, smiling and seated at a small keyboard at center stage and picked things up with the soulful ‘’Til the Morning Comes’ that had everyone clapping along. ‘Like I’m Going to Lose You’ a Meghan Trainor feat. John Legend cover was done completely acapella, with vocal beatboxing and harmonizing that made for a special version.
Their ‘Hits of 2014 medley’ got the loudest response, borne from their Vine versions and featuring the likes of Coldplay, Ariana Grande, Sia, Nico and Vinz, Pharrell, and more, in just a few minutes time. The couple closed their set with the album’s title track, which is a lyrical version of their own wedding vows.
Long before she ever hit the stage, cries of “Tori! Tori! Tori!” were shouted by the faithful and when Tori Kelly emerged, it was to ‘Where I Belong’. the opening cut of her upcoming album, Unbreakable Smile (Capitol Records). The YouTube sensation seemed genuinely surprised by the enthusiasm of the sold out crowd, most of whom knew every lyric to every song.
New album closer ‘Anyway’ led smoothly into part of a Lauryn Hill cover, and the older ‘Confetti’ seemed like self-written advice to herself, urging a live-in-the-moment approach, even when things get big.
By the time the mid-set ‘Cover Medley’ was played, Prince and latest protégé Judith Hill had slinked upstairs to their blocked off seats in the balcony, joining drummer Hannah Ford Welton and her producer/keyboardist husband, Joshua.
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Setlist
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The medley started slowly and moved up in pace, with Kelly covering Justin Timberlake, Michael Jackson, and rapper Frank Ocean, letting just her acoustic guitar and ranging soulful voice do all the lifting. Most of the under-21 crowd could sing ‘All in My Head’ back to the singer, which added a verse and chorus from Destiny’s Child, to end the song.
Another loose cover, Seal’s ‘Crazy’ described as “one of my favorite songs growing up”, took its time to crescendo, with Kelly’s soaring voice lifting it to new altitudes. Described as a song she wrote “when I was annoyed at the world”, her own ‘Talk’ used falsetto vocals amidst a thumping bass drum, then transitioned into ‘Kiss’ by Prince, with His Royal Badness smiling and amused, as he watched from the balcony.
The two-song encore began with ‘Dear No One’, a favorite among the Tori faithful such that the crowd seemed to do as much or more of the singing, as Kelly herself. Biggest hit to date and current single, ‘Nobody Love’ was saved for last, complete with the venue’s snow machines covering the floor audience as they danced about. With house lights up and the crowd screaming for more, it was clear that “everybody loves” Tori.
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Tori Kelly at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (11 Jun 2015) |