Experiencing the love in Daniel Caesar’s 'Freudian' performance
Photo courtesy of The Upcoming
The denim manufactured in Japan is regarded as the highest quality denim in the world and is made with unique Japanese machines – the last of their kind. It is with this sentiment that Daniel Caesar wrote and sang his song “Japanese Denim.” A love that lasts as long as a pair of Japanese denim jeans is a love that lasts forever.
When Caesar opened his Aug. 24 Houston concert with this song, I instantly fell in love. Despite the large crowd – which was substantially bigger than the one at his Houston concert last year – Caesar maintained an intimate connection with his listeners. The Caesar standing on the stage in front of me was still the same Caesar who sang soothing R&B to me through my headphones at night. He was still the one who pulled the inner hopeless romantic out of me. Except instead of playing softly into my ears, Caesar’s songs reverberated all around me. My heartbeat fell into rhythm with his drum beats, and his electric guitar accompaniment circulated through my veins.
Caesar’s voice was electrifying. It’s the kind of voice that instantly instills a need for affection and companionship. It was charged with such emotion, lust and passion that it jolted me into another world – one where all outside noises, worries and grievances did not exist.
But even before Caesar, Teyana Taylor had already set the intimate mood. She performed songs from her newly released album, “Keep That Same Energy.” Produced by Kanye West, the album features unique audio samples and soulful lyrics. Her performance served as an extension and reenactment of her stories, portrayed through dance moves, costumes and set projections. When she performed “Never Would Have Made It,” she brought her daughter (to whom she dedicates her success) out on stage. Projected behind her were home videos of her struggles to juggle both her blossoming musical career and her role as a new mother. Taylor effectively used music to impart her devotion and enthusiasm onto the crowd. When she closed her set with “Rose in Harlem,” she immediately amped up the crowd for Daniel Caesar.
During performances of his more popular songs “Get You” and “Best Part,” Caesar often held the microphone out to the crowd to sing along. Although we were not nearly as vocally talented as him, we belted our hearts out simply for the chance to sing with him. As the crowd serenaded, Caesar harmonized along before joining us in time for the chorus. In that moment, it felt that we were a pair of Japanese denim jeans, with a love that lasts forever.
More from The Rice Thresher
Revealing fragility and standing on the brink: A conversation with Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton
“I had the opportunity to speak with [Deborah D.E.E.P] Mouton about her process of creating a community poem, the augmentation of the artwork’s message by our present moment in history and our collective responsibility to actively create that better future — rather than sit idly by and wait for its announcement.”
Acquired Reading: A look into the lives and libraries of Rice’s faculty
Just as Rice students have found new ways to cope amid the general chaos, our professors have found themselves in the same unprecedented moment in history finding ways to muscle through their daily tasks: conducting research, teaching courses and attending to any children in need of attention.
The Strokes’ ‘The New Abnormal’ brings the best of the past to the present
I can’t drive to see my friends. I watched “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” earlier this week. I am living in the same house as my mother. My entire life feels like a bad rerun of my junior high years right now, so imagine my excitement when I discovered a more positive relic of my past: the return of indie garage rock outfit The Strokes after a seven year hiatus. “The New Abnormal” and its callbacks to early 2000s garage rock sound like they belong on a cassette mixtape while still managing to seem fresh. The album will delight listeners, even if they are coping with the pandemic marginally better than myself.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.