My Lenny Experience

I'm a huge fan of live music. I love to go to shows and will go see artists I'm not very familiar with to experience their sound. For a long time, my favorite would be to see artists in small venues. (I always felt like you could really connect with their energy in a small, confined space). This changed when I lived in Indiana. They would always have these concerts at Purdue on Slater Hill and it would be amazing. Nice weather, good music, and tons of people out just to have a good time. Since I've moved to New Orleans, my outside music experiences have definitely increased (there are a ton of music festivals here and this year I got to see Ms. Badu and the Dave Matthews Band). Last night I saw Lenny Kravitz at Voodoo fest. I am holding back nothing when I say it was the single best concert I've been to in my life.

First, let me discuss the synchronicity of events. I've been wanting to go to this show since I heard he'd be here in say August. I never bought tickets because right now money is tight. I asked everyone I could about passes or "hookups" and no one could come through. One day I got an email from an old friend in L.A. who said he was coming for the show. I thought he was just coming to go to the fest. Turns out he was working and got me two VIP passes (what an amazing friend!!!)!!! Because of my work schedule, I decided I'd go in the evening to catch Trombone Shorty, Flaming Lips and Lenny Kravitz. At 11 am the girl that was supposed to go with me let me know she wasn't and I called my friend Selam because I knew she wanted to go as well. She was free so we decided to go around 5. When we arrived the sun began to set and it was dark. I realized I'd never gone to an outside show at night. At first I was super nervous - the grounds were really wet and muddy and I can be a bit clumsy. We stopped by Trombone Shorty - good stuff! We made our way over to the LOA Lounge that our VIP status got us. We got a round of drinks and then I say my friend who had some amazing "treats". We sat by the lake and chatted a bit with Flaming Lips playing in the background. As Flaming Lips closed, my anticipation for Lenny was CRAZY!


More...So I've never been to a show with Selam so I was happy to know that she wanted to try to get closer to Lenny as well! Our VIP passes got us close to the front and with a little bit of maneuvering, we managed to get very close. His music was amazing. He played so strong and had amazing swagger.
And the lyrics! It felt like church and Lenny Kravitz was the pastor. Over and over he gave us commandments to live by like, "You are a child of the most high. There's nothing you can't do and that's no lie." I was feeling the music and really resonating with his lyrics. He ended the show with the crowd chanting, "Let love rule." And during his encore, he brought out Trombone Shorty!!!! (Trombone used to play with Lenny on tour so it was great to see them on stage together.) Oh and at the end of the encore the drummer threw his stick into the crowd and Selam caught it!!

During the show he spoke alot about living in New Orleans. He said he came to see Aretha at Jazzfest for one night but just stayed because it felt so right. I can see exactly what he means - there is something about this place that just feels good! I feel like I witnessed someone who really gets it - he plays great music but his songs are full of words of hope. I left feeling lighter and more energized. I'll be carrying his message, "It's time to take a stand. Brothers and sisters join hands. We've got to let love rule."