One of my best friends is from Portland, which just so happens to be the hometown of the headliner of Boston University’s first spring concert in five years. Aminé (uh-ME-nay, not anime, or uh-mean) takes immense pride in his roots, even hosting his own special concerts in Portland aptly named Glitterpop, as glitter is required.
After hearing all of this, and then actually listening to his music, I was pumped to experience all of it live — not even the rain could stop me.
The show was opened by two Boston University acts, who were selected from over 50 video submissions. First, the hip-hop dance troupe Fusion took the stage, giving an electrifying performance and getting the audience hyped. Unfortunately, they had to perform as everyone was still getting their tickets checked to enter the venue when they definitely deserved everyone’s undivided attention.
The next opener was rapper Danny Diamonds, who is a junior in the College of Communication. Even though most of the crowd didn’t know his original songs, that didn’t stop everyone from singing and dancing along.
However, while waiting for Aminé to come on, other concertgoers took that as an opportunity to try to push forwards. I was already near the front in the first couple of rows. People were pushing, despite there being nowhere to push. Security guards tried to tell the crowd to move back, but no one was listening. There were large groups falling to the ground, entangled in each other, me included. The ponchos were suffocating, to the point where I just had to rip it off.
When Aminé finally came on, he opened with “Yellow,” but I have absolutely no recollection of it. For his first two or three songs, everyone around me was just struggling to gain their footing and breathe as the crowd grew even rowdier. At one point, I turned around and saw a girl crying because the guy behind her was jumping into her neck every time he moved. My friend and I decided that it definitely was not worth it, and left the second row to try to enjoy the concert from the back, which we did.
Soon after, he played “Spice Girl,” which was definitely a crowd favorite, and played the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe” directly after, showing off his comedic flair. Aminé played a toned-down version of his most popular song “Caroline,” which surprised the crowd but allowed for a lot of audience participation. Other memorable songs included “RED MERCEDES” (remixed with Snoop Dogg’s “Drop It Like It’s Hot”), “REEL IT IN,” and “Wedding Crashers.”
Aminé sets himself apart from other artists with his signature crowd interaction. At the beginning of his set, he tells the audience that whenever he shouts “you’re beautiful,” we must shout back “I know,” which I thought perfectly encapsulated his outspoken message and artistry. His performance was short and sweet, ending with a tribute to Nipsey Hussle, an American rapper who was fatally shot a week earlier.
Some things are out of our control. Despite the rain, the violent crowd, and the short set, Aminé delivered an admirable performance, encapsulating his artistic spirit through the colorful visuals and transitions. He is undoubtedly a mesmerizing performer. I just wish there was more to see.
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