Concert Review: 'Hurricane' Halsey Blows Through Boston on "Badlands" Tour

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"Badlands" Album Cover (Capitol Records).

“I don’t know why you picked me, but I thank you so much.” –Halsey

Much like her song explains, Halsey is nothing short of a hurricane. She performed to a jam-packed House of Blues Boston this past Saturday. Halsey performed song after song from her debut album, Badlands, that dropped earlier this year. The crowd was electric and blatant fanatics of the rising star; every lyric from every song she performed echoed throughout the room. Halsey herself is magnetic. Her hurricane personality, full of angst and power and effective beauty, creates a musician who completely steals the spotlight for however long she is onstage. She adorned leather pants and a bralette only to change into a Miley Cyrus-esque, nude leotard hoodie with slits in the side. Her punk attire matched the hurricane within resonating throughout the venue.

Halsey made sure to hit the more notable songs from the album including “Castle,” “Hold Me Down,” and “New Americana.” The first two she sung in the beginning of the set that boosted the already energetic vibe in House of Blues. “New Americana” was Halsey’s closing song accompanied by confetti cannons from both ends of the stage. She spoke before that song, declaring that it was written for those different from the norm in America that defy the stereotypes. The message is powerful and impactful; to the youth of America, society is forever changing and developing, and it is on the current generation to continue to create a wider acceptance of all types of people. Those three hits are arguably her most popular, but Halsey made sure to pack her set that was only a little over an hour with almost every song off of her album.

Halsey performed “Hurricane” after a brief speech about New York, specifically Brooklyn. Though the song begins with details about a boy, the main character is Halsey. In the chorus, she sings, “I’m a wanderess, I’m a one night stand, don’t belong to no city, don’t belong to no man. I’m the violence in the pouring rain, I’m a hurricane.” In the middle of the song, she explained that this song’s message is a reminder that you do not belong to anyone but yourself. Out of all the songs on her album, this encapsulates Halsey the best. Her intense dedication to her career combined with an extremely unique set of beats and lyrics create a female monster that is defying the girly girl stereotype. 

Halsey has no filter. She says “fuck.” She does not wear floral patterns. However, she is gorgeous in a way that many female artists cannot accomplish. Her sexiness is derived from the edgy yet inviting vibe of her music and herself. Halsey owns a beautiful contrast of her pixie cut and airy speaking voice with a nitty-gritty performing style and extremely honest lyrics. She is exactly what the chorus describes in “Hurricane.” Her growing fan base should be extremely excited for the next time Hurricane Halsey blows through Boston; next time, it’s arena style.

Photos: Tove Lo Brings "Queen of the Clouds" Tour to Royale in Boston

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Tove Lo performing at Royale Boston on October 14th, 2015 (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

Swedish singer Tove Lo brought her "Queen of the Clouds" tour to Boston Wednesday night. Tove has recently taken America by storm with her radio hits "Stay High," "Talking Bodies," and her feature on Alesso's "Heroes," which has resulted in her selling out shows across the country, including this show in Boston and even being added to iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball arena tour.

Check out photos from the show below:

Photos: R. Kelly Performs at The Forum in Los Angeles

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R. Kelly perfomring at The Forum in Los Angeles on October 10th, 2015 (Gibson Dintersmith/Roman's Rap-Up).

Saturday night’s show at The Forum in Los Angeles started with a great set from Demetria McKinney, and only got better from there. Opening-act Tyrese lit up the arena when he brought out the legendary Too $hort, proving to be a difficult act to follow, but R. Kelly was up to the challenge. As soon as he entered the stage, the entire 8,000 plus crowd in attendance, which had previously been seated, rose to their feet, many starstruck by Kelly’s presence. With a mix of both newer and older music, he was able to retain the enthusiasm of the crowd throughout his entire set. It was definitely not a show to miss, and the epicness of his performance was obvious from the crowd’s reaction. 

See photos from the show below:

Concert Review: Boston Calling Music Festival Returns for Historic Fall Edition

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Hozier played Day 3 at Boston Calling Music Festival on September 27th, 2015 (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up). 

Boston Calling Music Festival was held for its third year this past weekend at Boston City Hall. The weather was nothing short of festival perfection for its biannual autumn 2015 lineup. Though Government Center station is under construction right next to the festival site, the two stages and the City Hall backdrop still nicely framed the enclosed location. 

Boston Calling outdid itself this year in relation to the atmosphere day-to-night. JetBlue made flower crowns with real flora in front of its customers, a beer garden nestled under rows of trees, and lawn games decorated patches of grass near the back of the venue. KIND handed out granola bars as well as flowers to passing festivalgoers. Bubbles floated through the crowd from a machine tucked in a corner of City Hall. Stands, such as Tasty Burger, and Wagamama, kept customers satisfied with quality-made food. During the nighttime, multicolored lights lit up the outdoor sections of City Hall and string of lights hung from trees. The entire atmosphere was extremely enjoyable and laidback – one could feel the happy vibe ebbing throughout the audience. 

Day 1 & 2: 

Friday’s notable performance was Of Monsters and Men – an act that is familiar with Boston Calling due to their performance at Boston Calling Spring 2013. Their performance this fall included their hit, “Little Talks,” that certainly pleased the first-night crowd.

Highlights from Saturday began as the sun started to set. Walk the Moon, Chromeo, and Chvrches all left notable impacts on the growing crowd. alt-J headlined the festival Saturday night with a trippy light show seen through clouds of puffed smoke in the audience. 

Walk the Moon, known for their recent hit “Shut Up and Dance,” set a lighthearted mood for Saturday evening. Lion King’s “Circle of Life” was the band’s entrance song; lead singer Nicholas Petricca emerged with a recognizable hot pink Mohawk. Blue beach balls floated through the crowd. Part way through the set, Petricca commented, “I love Boston people. They’re so sassy.”

The band was an enjoyable transition into Chromeo’s high-energy funk set. The duo turned up the party atmosphere in a now almost-full Boston Calling crowd. Audience members closer to the stage held blue light sticks that ferociously bounced to the beat. Now that the sun had completely set, the lighting and fog machines amped up Chromeo’s set. 

Chvrches followed Chromeo, and their music attained a more electronic/pop rock sound. Their lead singer, Lauren Mayberry, rocked a cute and quirky vibe relative to the lead singer of Florence + The Machine. Mayberry told the audience that the band had not performed in Boston since before their first album came out, so their Boston Calling performance held significance in being back in the city. They performed a combination of songs from their two albums The Bones of What You Believe and Every Open Eye including “Clearest Blue” and “The Mother We Share.” 

alt-J rounded out the Saturday lineup with their headline performance. Their indie rock vibe complimented this fall’s artists for the festival. The energy was high as the crowd filled both sections in front of the stages. alt-J played a favorite, “Fitzpleasure,” as well as others from their most recent album This is All Yours. Though Saturday’s performers were memorable, Sunday’s lineup certainly stole the show for the whole weekend.

Day 3:

Nate Ruess performed Sunday evening. Ruess, known as a member of the band fun, began the string of Sunday’s highlights. Ruess sang multiple notable fun songs including “Some Nights,” “We Are Young,” and “Carry On.” In addition, he performed his hit with Pink, “Give Me a Reason.” Recognizable song after recognizable song created a satisfied audience that enjoyed Ruess’s identifiable, high-pitched voice. Ruess sang in front of a colorful background that promoted his first solo album, Great Romantic, which came out this past summer. This solo album included the hit “Nothing Without Love” that Ruess performed last night. It was a strong opening evening performance.

Hozier was Boston Calling’s strongest performance the entire weekend. The Irish native sang from his 2015 album, Hozier, including the well-known hit “Take Me to Church” that concluded his set. In addition, “Work Song” and “Jackie and Wilson” were strong performances. Hozier’s electric guitar skills and deep, rich vocal sound create his successful musical identity. He even mastered two completely different genre covers: The Beatles’s “Blackbird” and Ariana Grande’s “Problem.” Both were arguably better than the originals. The crowd seemed to cheer loudest for Hozier as he was certainly one of the biggest stars of the weekend. 

Alabama Shakes headlined after Hozier. The band’s soulful rock sound filled the festival area. Their lead singer, Brittany Howard, is breaking American rock band stereotypes as a black woman who can rock harder than many male lead singers on the charts right now. Back up singers and eclectic band members filled out her sound. “Dunes,” from their new album, Sound and Color, is one of their newer songs; it reflects the vibe of the band’s music. Its soulful yet edgy rhythm is catchy and enjoyable. Alabama Shakes perfectly ended the laidback Boston Calling festival, as concertgoers now look forward to the release of Spring 2016’s lineup in the coming months.

Concert Review: Ed Sheeran Brings British Charm to Gillette Stadium; Plays Biggest U.S. Show to Date

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Ed Sheeran performed his biggest U.S. show to date on Friday, September 25th, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

Ed Sheeran brought his North American tour to New England this past Friday night, but this was no ordinary show. At his largest venue yet, and his first time playing in an NFL stadium, Sheeran and his openers, British singer Passenger and Atlantic label-mate Christina Perri, gave his fans a special night that none will soon forget.

Sheeran’s shows have a special quality. To fill and entertain an entire stadium full of over 52,000 people, you’d think he’d have to take a page from Taylor Swift’s concert handbook, having a moving stage, dancers, etc. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the “Lego House” singer calmly walked onstage adorned in a signature red flannel, acoustic guitar in hand. That obviously didn’t matter to the thousands there to see him, with Sheeran opening by saying “if you’re not [bothering] anyone else, do whatever the f**k you want.” The crowd happily agreed with this statement.

Ed Sheeran performed his biggest U.S. show to date on Friday, September 25th, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, MA (Benjamin Esakof/Roman's Rap-Up).

With no backup, Ed was on it own. Using a foot pedal board, he was his own one-man-band. Flawlessly strumming and singing along, Sheeran effortlessly transitioned from sultry hit to sultry hit, with his 52,915 (to be exact) background singers helping him with “Photograph,” “Sing,” & “Lego House,” among the many.

Nearing the end of the show, the British star pulled out all the stops. Christina Perri joined Ed onstage to sing her song “Be My Forever” (which he is featured on), which led the already-hoarse crowd to strain their voices even more, never missing a word. But the fun and surprises didn’t stop there. Chris Martin, lead singer of world-famous band Coldplay, emerged from behind the massive LED panels. Before the fans could even stop screaming, Chris joined Ed in treating the crowd to a once-in-a-lifetime performance: a duet of Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud,” and Coldplay’s “Yellow.”

Ed Sheeran has done the unthinkable, something only existing in most performers’ dreams, showing it’s possible to be popular with no flashy dancers or sets, just a really good voice and a guitar. Just a few years ago, he was playing small nightclubs for just a few hundred fans. Today he’s selling out major world-class stadiums & arenas like Wembley Stadium in his home country, and now Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. 

Well done, Sheeran - you’re a living, breathing example that dreams do come true.