Montreal matches Tinashe’s freak | Fringe Arts – The Link

The show started at 8pm with a flawless DJ set from Robin Banks, who set the tone with a mix of rap and R&B hits. Her set took the crowd through a variety of synths, from Mariah Carey’s “I Know What You Want” to Amaarae’s “Princess Going Digital,” switching between early 2000s classics and newly released songs.

“It’s super surreal,” Banks said. “I literally just started mixing seriously, maybe two years ago.”

The energy changed when Raveena took the stage and invited the crowd to meditate with her under a crystal tree. The pro-Palestinian artist was not afraid to use the stage in her choreography as she twirled, danced and radiated loving energy throughout her performance. In her half-hour set, she led the audience to look inward and get into the rhythm of her soft melodies. She sang about the journey of loving yourself and the ecstasy of love.

The “Junebug” singer put the crowd into a trance and welcomed everyone into her community.

During a short break, Raveena’s bandmate Jenn Clemena-Magat showed off her gripping skills in instrumental guitar playing.

“We wanted to pay tribute to Aaliyah tonight with ‘At Your Best (You Are Love),'” Raveena said after thanking Tinashe for the invitation to the Match My Freak World Tour. As she closed her set, Raveena invited fans to join her at the merchandise table, where she made herself available for photos.

The crowd’s excitement reached new heights as roadies lined up Tinashe’s work mise en scene and an altered remix of “Nasty” came over the speakers. The set consisted of three CCTV multi-camera tripods, three jumbotron screens and a raised platform.

As the lights dimmed, a mix of relevant images from her three-act trilogy BB/Ang3l was projected onto the screens, drawing the audience into what they were about to experience.

Opening with “Getting No Sleep” from her latest album Quantum babyTinashe had the audience singing along from her first note. The setlist was rich with top hits, ranging from the start of her mainstream career in 2014 to her current releases.

“Tinashe’s breath control between the singing and the choreography (…) she ate that,” says Marlyne Désir, a Montreal artist and Tinashe fan.

The star’s backup dancers added flair and storytelling with their twin-like facial expressions, emotional movements and constant interaction with the audience. During “Unconditional”, one of the dancers reintroduced herself as a prop and held Tinashe’s microphone stand for her. As “Gravity” started playing, a dancer from her crew became a live videographer and captured the headliner as she walked to the main stage.

“It was freaking amazing,” said Yevyn Alam, a dancer for the Match My Freak World Tour who has been working with Tinashe since October 14. “She is so beautiful (and) such an insanely talented artist.”

Before the final third of the show, a memorable and nostalgic mash-up video was projected onto the jumbotron screens, showcasing Tinashe’s career highlights and online fan interactions.

Shortly afterwards, the perfect introduction to Tinashe’s new hit ‘No Broke Boys’ was shown: a clip from a 1996 Cher interview in which she said: ‘My mother said to me, ‘You know honey, you need to settle down and get with a rich man marry. .’ I said, ‘Mom, I’m a rich man.'”

Tinashe closed with none other than “Nasty,” the viral song that put her back in the spotlight earlier this year. The moment she sang, “Cause it feels like heaven when it hurts like this,” a wave of excitement pierced the crowd and everyone started dancing and shouting every lyric at the top of their lungs.