REVIEW + SNAPS: Jhené Aiko | Enmore Theatre, Sydney
“It’s kind of like a therapy session where I’m getting to share my stories with people that have experienced some of the same things,” Jhené Aiko told us when we spoke to her ahead of her packed-out Sydney show and from the minute she walked onto the stage, she delivered on her promise. A stage divides and elevates an artist from the crowd while the lights drown out the faces of the adoring in front. It’s a difficult job to act as if those barriers between artist and audience don’t exist and one that takes a very special artist to do so.
Aiko entered the stage in a blur of lights, waltzing calmly onto the stage. From the minute she opened her mouth for the first time she’d already torn down those barriers. The crowd was locked on her from the first second and she never lost sight of the fact that they were there with her and for her. Backed by a three-piece, including a bass player, it was clear from the start that this was going to be a proper soul session. From opener Limbo Limbo Limbo she lay back in the beat and went with the music rather than leading it. Her notes were elongated and pitch perfect while her hand movement were hypnotising.
For artists with lyrics as introspective as Aiko’s, it’s easy for them to get lost inside their own heads but the Californian artist made sure at every moment that she invited the crowd in too. “We’re all the same,” she said at one point, dispelling any idea that the crowd needed to look-up and idolise because she’s on a stage. In that way, it felt like we were side-by-side with her, every lyric as profound as the next. “Change is inevitable,” she sang on highlight Spotless Mind as everyone swayed and gazed as if completely put at ease by her words.
By the third song, Aiko had already taken off her shoes and made the Enmore Theatre her living room. She bounced around the stage and took every opportunity to look audience members in the eye. There was talking in between every song as she told stories, amped the crowd up for party tunes or settled them down for the more free-flowing cuts. Most of the free-flowing material came from her stunning debut album Souled Out. The spacious W.A.Y.S gave her plenty of space to show-off her honey-soaked vocals and Eternal Sunshine felt as monumental as Frank Sinatra taking on My Way. Where some of these songs felt cruisey on the album, live they were bolstered by a live band and Aiko’s showmanship which was natural but effective.
Maybe it’s because Lauryn Hill’s Doo Wop (That Thing) played before she entered the stage but it was hard not to compare the two. It was more a lyrical similarity than a stylistic one as it’s hard to think of a songstress who has opened her diary as vividly as Aiko has since The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill. That kind of honesty is something that crowds really lock to if it’s genuine and there were some misty eyes at points during the set.
It wasn’t all emotion though, as there were plenty of points that called for a party. Bed Peace orchestrated a massive singalong and a rendition of her verse on Omarion’s Post To Be took things straight to the club. The latter was a much needed injection of energy but a short detour as Aiko once again took the tempo down again and continued the song with a sensual, impressive verse. The crowd’s voices were also out in full force for her version of Drake’s From Time.
When The Worst hit the entire Enmore Theatre erupted with everyone zoning out together. This moment was always going to be a highlight but it was made better by the fact that Aiko had worked hard on building a rapport with crowd. It looked like that would be the final song but she was told she could do one more and happily obliged. She danced off-stage and after a few minutes of hoping for an encore that crowd left satisfied.
Then, as the doorways were swelling with people trying to exit, Aiko entered the stage again and everyone came flooding back in. Everyone who was seated crowded to the front of the mezzanine, creating an even better vibe. Whether it was impromptu or not remains to be seen but it felt like it was and the crowd was elated at this unexpected extra taste. “No one ever asked for an encore…” she said as she handed the loud Sydney crowd one extra song. Departing on the mantra, “there’s only one love,” it felt as if she’d actually fallen in love with Sydney. And the feeling was mutual.
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