Lost Archives: Dance Liberation Sensation (Originally Published March 2023)
My Kelela Raven Tour Review
When my Ghost site vanished into the digital ether, I lost years of writing. But some pieces demand resurrection. This review of Kelela's Raven tour at The Fonda Theater was one of my first attempts at capturing Black queer joy in real-time. Reading it now, through my Projector lens, I see how I was unconsciously documenting energy - the way certain spaces feed us while others drain us.
What strikes me rereading this is how I was already writing about liberation, about finding ourselves in the music, about the exhaustion of existing in spaces that weren't built for us. I just didn't have the language yet. I didn't know about Human Design or energy centers or why that underground dance floor felt like church while office buildings felt like graveyards.
This was written when I was still figuring out why certain concerts left me energized for days while others drained me instantly. Now I know - it's about recognition. That night, in that room, we all recognized each other. No code-switching required.
Here's the original review, untouched. A time capsule from when I was unknowingly documenting my own journey toward energy sovereignty.
Intro
The revolution will not be televised. Gil Scott Heron said those words in the 70s. That fact has compounded in 2023. The world is moving faster and information is being generated at exponential rates. The revolution happens too fast for TV. If you're lucky, you catch it on twitter. 😄
The revolution I'm talking about is the dance music revolution. Small indie acts are making music rivaled the biggest acts due to technology. This is even more pronounced for black independent artists. Long before Beyonce dropped Renaissance black artists have been experimenting with dance music. Today I want to break down my favorite dance maven Kelela.
Kelela
Kelela broke onto the music scene back in 2013 with her mixtape Cut 4 Me. She was captivating for her use of R&B vocals over heavy dance beats. Swedish band Little Dragon ushered in a similar sound, that she surged forward. Spotify recommended her song Bankhead to me in 2013 and I was immediately enthralled.
I bought tickets to see her immediately at U St. Music Hall. DC folks will remember the concert venue underneath the 7/11. Saying that out loud feels surreal, but it was in fact an underground dance club. I descended that long flight of stairs and I experienced pure joy.
She mixed electronic dance music and R&B, who gives a shit David? Ill tell you. Kids like me. Kids who listened to R&B, soul and gospel at home, then went to school and listened to electronic music. Kids whose music tastes bridged two worlds due to context. I'm sure some immigrants can relate. I know out there somewhere there is a Mexican or Taiwanese variant of Kelela.
I was so excited because it was the first time my disparate music tastes collided in the hands of a black artist. An ep came out, then an album, then a remix album. I went to a show on every one of her tours and then she vanished.
It was silence felt across the world. It was the COVID pandemic. All her fans waited with bated breath. We speculated, we longed and we hoped. People would send funny tweets. Where are you girl? People sent thoughtful tweets. "Wherever she is I know she is doing something important and she will return"
Summer 2022 she broke the silence. She dropped the single Washed Away and posted a funny reel of fans wondering where she was. Next she did a Fader interview and spilled the tea. The pandemic changed her world as much as it did ours.
She cut business ties with those who didn't evolve from the 2020 racial reckoning. She educated herself on white supremacy. She vowed not to do business with anyone who didn't support black liberation. She called out gay men of color who oppress fems of color. This was a new day.
Fast forward to February 2023 and she released her second LP Raven. This album was the same sonic landscape she occupied before but a new mental space. Now her lyrics spoke of liberation for black fems, queer folks and nonbinary folks. The album floored me. Everything I had thought and experienced from 2020-2022 oozed from the music.
The feelings of frustration, isolation, the exhaustion from outpouring of emotional labor. The desire to dance and be free. The urge to make love and connect. The fear of loving another and mustering the courage to do it anyway.
I flew to LA to see the show for RAVEN. Here’s my breakdown.
Tour
The Raven tour was short with only a few stops in America and Europe. Each location has a dance music scene and/or significant black population. She went to New York, Toronto, Atlanta, DC but not Denver. Sorry Denver, I guess your dance scene isn't diverse enough, yet.
Venue
The Fonda Theater in west Hollywood. West Hollywood is a queer neighborhood. The Fonda feels like the LA version of the Ogden: small, intimate, accessible.
Opener
Right at 9 pm the beat drops. We hear Kelela but we don't see her. A velvet blue curtain rises to reveal a DJ in a fishnet top and a chunky silver chain. Some foreplay before the main event. He spun a mixture of dance tracks with familiar vocals. We got several of Kelela's remixes. A version of kiss it better I'd never heard.
Of course SZA made an appearance. When he dropped America Has a Problem by Beyonce everyone lost their shit. Then came a few songs only the gaybies knew. I texted a friend that I felt like a house mother in that crowd. My favorite was a new remix of Better, Kelela's opus on friendship being better after love.
The stage was set; we were here to dance.
Main Show
The DJ disappears, the curtains drop and I'm lost. Most headliners start at 9:30. It's 10 now and Kelela is nowhere around. The girls are getting restless. The late Lucy's are starting to push. Some queens behind start pushing. I hear someone say "She's a burley bitch" Lmao yes gurl shoulder press.
Me and my new concert friends snicker. I guess they should have gotten here earlier. This happens at every show with a floor. It's not even a thing.
Boom a spotlight hits the curtains, they rise and we see a smoky stage. We hear the beat drop. The girls scream. Phones pop into the air and we scan the stage.
Then after we are wet with anticipation she sauntered on stage. She wore a black dress, black knee high boots, and black leather gloves. The clips from other nights show her in various wigs. Tonight, she's rocking a blonde fade.
It's on.
📝Setlist.
Veteran concert goers know that setlists float on the internet. Setlists are like the ending to a movie. Some people prefer the surprise of not viewing them. I prefer anticipation that comes with knowing.
Plus I get lost in the stimulation of concerts, having a sense of what's coming is grounding.
Setlist
1. Washed Away (kidkanevil Remix)
2. Bluff
3. Happy Ending
4. On The Run
6. Contact
7. Go All Night
8. Let It Go
9. Bank Head
10. Waiting
11. Rewind
12. Raven
13. Bruises
14. Sorbet
15. Enough For Love
16. All The Way Down (Encore)
YouTube Playlist
Here is a link to a playlist of the songs she performed so you can take this journey with me.
🌊Washed Away (kidkanevil remix)
She starts with her return single and album opener. It creeps to a start like the album version. After the first verse, the beat switches and the remix comes in. We are still here to dance!
🧱Bluff
Next we get the tender plea for love everyone remembers. The crowd sings along.
🩰Happy Ending
Single number 2 and the first dance track through and through. The girls went nuts for this one. I didn't like it months ago but it has grown on me some.
🏎️On The Run
My second favorite cut from the album and the sexiest video from this record. The perfect blend of dance and sensuality. She beckons her lover to let their guard down and stop running away.
Here she pauses and greets us. She says the LA show sold out in 2 days. She thanks us for coming. Then a special thank you. A thank you for her days ones.
🥵Contact
My favorite dance cut of all. It's fast, energetic and raw. That's what it brings out of the crowd. The dancing and the close quarters are getting hot. I'm sweating. This tall skinny thing next me rips off her tank top.
🌌Go All Night
This is a song from her debut mixtape and everyone knows this one. The crowd explodes. Phones are everywhere. People are jumping and shouting lyrics. I’ll admit this song is super singable.
She tells the crowd “The energy is on 12 thousand million trillion. I can’t hear what is in my headphones.”
🎈Let it Go
This is my favorite track from the new album. Most folks here don't know it. I still have a great time. This song is perfect to sing-a-long to and I do exactly that. I try to keep up while she skips and skats over the beat.
🪙Bank Head
Another OG mixtape song that everyone knows well.
🕰️Waitin (Remix)
The only track from her Take Me Apart remix album. This track sees her join forces with queer DJ and beatmaker Kaytranada. The combo is magic.
📼Rewind
A popular song from her Hallucinogen ep. No complaints here.
🕊️Raven
The title track and manifesto of her second album. Here began an epic three song run to close out the show. The lights change and there is an echoing moment of silence. Her face hides in shadow. Here are the lyrics from verse 2 and verse 3 that jump out at me.
[Picture]
[Verse 2]
Took all my labor
Don't tell me that I'm strong
You'll never wake up
Your silence lasts so long
So long
So long
[Verse 3]
The hype will waver
I'm not nobody's pawn
Don't need no favors
It's all good, I've moved on
Moved on
Moved on
🤕Bruises
The transition from Raven to Bruises is immaculate. On Bruises we dance away the pain, and the heaviness in Raven. If there was ever a time to vogue, this song is it.
🍧Sorbet
Sorbet wasn't on the setlist I found online and it was a welcome surprise. Kelela has a knack for composing sexy songs and this will likely be the sexiest song of 2023. When I heard this song starting, I told my neighbor “someone's going to get pregnant.”
🥊Enough For Love
The final note of the album. After all the dancing, all the truth, all the fucking, the album asks a question. "Are you tough enough for love"
🎢Encore (All The Way Down)
After she gets everyone all hot and bothered and she walks off stage. Every artist does this. Singers plan and rehearse encores. The crowd has to show enthusiastic consent for them to get back on stage.
After she hears the cheering, she returns. All The Way Down has the sound of a 90s R&B classic. For this reason it's likely her most recognizable song. This is how you end a show.
🔭Question of The Week
Have you made time art that moves you this month?
♥️Thank You
Thanks for reading this post from my archives.