ISSUE #70 / August 1, 2019

Anderson .Paak / all📷 : MDR

Here’s a hypothetical: What if beloved R&B and hip-hop hero Anderson .Paak played a free show in Chicago? How many people do you think would show up to see him? 

Not to give out any spoilers, but this isn’t a hypothetical. And I will save you the strain on your head meat because the answer is:a lot of people, and by “a lot of people,” I mean, lines for days! Lines like you would not believe. Single-point perspective lines that disappear over the horizon. When I arrived at the House of Vans last Thursday, I honestly couldn’t tell where to enter due to the crush of people. I had to have a security person direct me through the mob to the VIP entry, and even then, once I was inside, I felt like I had walked into a commuter train car exiting Tokyo during rush hour. Just about half the city showed up to cram shoulder to shoulder, and stacked thirty-deep to see the genius maestro at work. And you know what? It was worth it!

It was worth navigating the fields of dancing, jorts-clad teens. It was worth braving the clouds of BO and vape exhaust that clung thick in the air due to the 90-degree heat. It was worth stepping around the girl projectile vomiting onto the dance floor because of some lousy granola (read: pills) she had ingested. Despite the crowd being so thick around the food truck parked out back that they could have held off the ’85 Bears in their prime from charging to the endzone; I still say it was worth it. So many people showed up that they ran out of complimentary T-shirts with the Van's logo on them. (That NEVER happens.) It was a madhouse. But it was a madness you have to bear witness to if you are going to also see one of the most charismatic performers alive do his thing in Chicago for the low, low price of showing up on time for doors... The free beer was cool, too.

The night kicked off with soul singer Kadhja Bonet, whose blend of subdued funk, soul, and chamber pop helped set a relaxing tone to the otherwise crowded and chaotic setting. The California singer kept her eyes down set as she confidently and carefully crooned to herself on stage. An intimate performance. An island of calm in a sea of teeming humanity. The song that really grabbed me and clued me into the fact that I was witnessing something special was “Delphine” off her second album Childqueen, released last year. A vial of quivering liquid sound that feels smooth, warm, and cleansing as it washes over the ears. She might not have a flashy stage show, but her voice is stunning to hear live. If you get the chance to hear her perform in person- do not miss it, you will not like yourself if you do.

After Bonet’s set wrapped, .Paak’s backing band took the stage to keep the revelry rolling. After being introduced by the headliner himself, referring to him ashis “favorite band,” the Free Nationals performed for about thirty minutes before a trumpeter cut through the crowd, ripping through a honking solo as a herald of the party jams to come. After the horn player reached the stage, .Paak himself materialized behind the drum kit. I say materialized because he slipped with very little preamble to let loose a baby-making beat so hot it could get your mom in the mood to make you a new little brother or sister. It was a sweltering set. Both literally in terms of air temperature, and figuratively, in terms of all the teens it caused to grind each other into rashy nubs around me. Through it all, I don’t think .Paak stopped smiling. Not once. It seems impossible for a human man to have such a viral smile, but it was definitely contagious, and I definitely felt my cheeks start to seize halfway through the set from grinning too much. Switching between his kit and going solo on the mic, .Paak rotated through all the hits, from his two most recent albums, swaggering through the twisty sweaty soul of “Tints,” the cool sexy swivel of “Make It Better,” to the playful slide and boxing bubbly funk of “King James.” The energy in the room hit its peak when .Paak announced, “this one won me a Grammy,” followed by a horn thrill and the opening lines of the now-iconic whip-lash flow of “Bubblin.” It was about this point in the set that I lost track of what was happening. There were so many people moving around me- dancing, jostling towards the stage, grinding, and taking semi-concealed puffs of controlled substances; most of my energy was consumed in keeping my footing and not getting slapped around too much. There was much commotion, and the vibe was too dense and juicy that I dropped my reviewer hat on the floor and just sailed on the cracking rhythm of the evening through what felt like three separate encores.

If you have the chance to see a free show in Chicago during the summer, do it. Navigate the crowds, congestion, and debauchery. It’s worth it. If you have the chance to see Anderson .Paak, free or not, do it! Mortgage your home. Sell your car. Take your kids out of their charter school. Pay what you have to. You won’t regret it! Play me out with an Eric Wareheim "mind blown" gif.