Flight delays, after the break!
L.A. Concerts presents Montell Jordan, Ruff Endz, & Guests @ Pershing Square (07/21/24)
ft. Montell Jordan, Ruff Endz, O.T. Genasis, Luniz, DJ Dome, and more!
The second musical artist I ever latched onto during my childhood was Montell Jordan. Loved watching his music videos for "This Is How We Do It" & 'Somethin' 4 the Honeyz" on MTV regularly. They were quite fun and comical while filling my musical soul with soul, R&B, & hip hop which defined the youthful soundtrack of my 90s. Didn't really connect with Rock back then. Everything I listened to was R&B and Hip Hop.
And Montell played a big role in that era. Would've been disappointing if I never supported a show of his. Luckily opportunity presented itself as my sister pulled me out of the house for a free show sponsored by the Los Angeles Parks & Rec department at Pershing Square in Downtown LA a few weeks back. Montell Jordan was the headliner alongside R&B legends Blaque, Shai, and Ruff Endz whom I also loved once upon a time.
Sadly... anything that can go wrong, will go wrong... as our world was struck by a MASSIVE SHUTDOWN a few days before the event.
But everything felt normal as we entered Pershing Square. All these music fans just wanted to do was drink, eat, listen to music, and have a good time. Didn't see any change to the concert bill occurring as we stood there in the near 100-degree heat. We didn't expect things to roll in on time as most concerts, especially free shows, tend to have hiccups but something seemed off as we listened to DJ Dome play some exquisite mixes to keep the energy going. He was incredible with all his stellar song choices. Really saved our experience. Just felt like they were stalling for time.
Wasn't until Montell Jordan's set that it was announced that both Shai and Blaque couldn't make the event. This answered all my internal questions because there were so many random acts before Ruff Endz appeared for the romantic set. O.T. Genasis & Hip Hop Duo Luniz, whom wasn't billed, really stepped up to lift up the closers. I just felt like it happened a bit too late. Surely there was chaos behind the scenes, but a little clarity would've been nice. Hard to complain about a free show that was solidly run by the LA Parks & Rec. Great job all around. Generally, feel bad for them due to all the problems beyond their control.
Guess I gonna look for another opportunity to see Shai down the road.
Montell Jordan didn't disappoint for this longtime fan. He played all my favs with some of his Gospel cuts. It seemed like he was caught off-guard by the crowd's energy, but we were exhausted by the heat and bad pacing. It was an extremely long event to experience in hindsight. All of us who survived toughed it out for Montell. Hope he knows that. Montell Jordan's vocals held up nicely over the years. Not much got lost in translation between the artist & my expectations for his show.
Big thanks to the LA Parks & Rec, Montell Jordan, Ruff Endz, O.T. Genasis, Luniz, DJ Dome, and the rest of the performers for a fun FREE event. Hope they continue to keep classic R&B alive for the culture.
Photo Gallery
Full Album... Available on Flickr!
Photography Notes: Came well-equipped with my 2013 Nikon Point and Shoot alongside my Samsung Galaxy FE. Was able to capture close-ups and crowd shots with ease. Pershing Square has a curved drop before you get to the concrete stairs so it was better for us to stay a little back, towards the middle-back portion of the area. Otherwise, we were gonna be staring up at an angle through a wall of heads. Would've made this tall man feel small.
