When D’Angelo & The Vanguard dropped Black Messiah, I was hooked on the album- the songs, production, everything! When The Second Coming Tour was announced, I was so excited! When the day came for the tour to hit Denver, everyone was talking about the anticipation all day- Denver was excited and ready for a legendary show.
As soon as I walked into The Ogden Theater, I could feel the rising energy. Concert-goers were excited, happy and social- buzzing around with their drinks and purchasing tour merchandise. The crowd was a mixture of all kinds of people- young, old, black, white and everything in between. The people were beautiful last night.
The venue was packed and everyone was enjoying the sounds of Meg Mac, who is also on tour with D’Angelo. She’s a gorgeous, petite Australian woman with a powerful, soulful voice. Meg Mac was really great and set the vibe just right. After that, there was about a 30-35 minute intermission before the main act hit the stage- we were ready! The crowd even starting clapping and chanting for D’Angelo to come to the stage!
First to the stage was the band, looking as harmonious as ever! The band included 3 guitarists, a drummer, 2 keyboards, a trumpet, a saxophone and 3 backup singers. They were more polished than ever. D’Angelo strolled out to the front of the stage in a white hat, ripped green fatigue coat and a guitar that look encrusted in diamonds! The crowd screamed as D’Angelo took his place and they grooved right into “Ain’t That Easy,” the first track on Black Messiah- and my favorite off the album!
The performance moved smoothly though more songs off of Black Messiah including “Betray My Heart.” This was a especially memorable as D’Angelo signed the hook each time he sang it, “I will never betray my heart.” Next up was a beautiful performance of “Really Love” followed by “The Charade.” The band seemed to have a little “jam” session in between all the songs- D’Angelo looked like he was completely happy singing his heart out and grooving all over the stage. They took the set list back a little bit was a crazy dope rendition of the classic “Brown Sugar.” The crowd was completely involved and singing every lyric. D’Angelo made sure he kept the crowd interested and excited as he would hold the mic to the crowd for the fans to sing.
After another song and a funky jam session, he said “Thank You,” and left the stage. So did the band. That was it?? NO WAY! The crowd wouldn’t accept that as an ending to the show. The crowd didn’t lighten and people started clapping, chanting and screaming for D’Angelo to return to the stage. A couple guitars were switched out as well as the mic stand- the venue was filled with screams! We knew there had to be an encore! Sure enough, the band and the main man returned to the stage to get close the show out proper. The show continued with a performance of “Another Life,” and “Back To The Future (Part 1).” Everyone was dancing the entire time. The last 10 minutes of the show was amazing. D’Angelo and The Vanguard completely rocked out and blew any other live show I’ve seen out of the water! The vibes were incredible! D’Angelo was dripping in sweat and addressed the Colorado crowd one more time as he bowed and said “Thank You.”
I really mean it when I say this was one of the BEST shows I have ever been to. Everyone on that stage performed their asses off, we could feel it! D’Angelo had the crowd participation on point and made everyone feel so lucky to be at this show. The tour has for sure been good to him because he looked great! He smiled far more than not and looked happy as hell to be on that stage! I could hear the crowd the entire time- either singing, clapping along or screaming! It was so much fun and such an incredible live show. I know I’m not the only one that will remember this show forever and hopefully D’Angelo and the amazing Vanguard will also remember their time in the Mile High City! If The Second Coming Tour is making a stop in your city- do not miss the show! You will regret it if you do!
Check out the photos of the show below…
All Photos: DZ3 Creative
