Blk Odyssy ft. Bren Joy + Lala

admittedly remaining impartial during this particular review is rather difficult, but as a lover of just plain good music i hope their music brings joy to y’all’s lives as it does to mine! like many other BLK ODYSSY fans, the first song i heard by them i discovered back in 2021 with the release of “hang low,” a silky and sultry r&b song featuring james robinson released the same year. since then, the austin-based band spearheaded by new jersey native juwan elcock has remained in constant rotation for me year after year. i can honestly say that each of their albums has a completely different sound that meshes sounds of genres only a genius could think to blend together, with the most recent album and focus of this concert, “MOOD CONTROL” certainly being no exception. i’m honestly shocked that BLK ODYSSY isn’t more famous and spend a lot of my time sharing their music with everyone i know (and by now i’ve shared almost every single one of their songs on my instagram story). 

few other words can accurately describe how grateful i am to have gotten the opportunity to attend their june 20th concert at sony hall in manhattan. despite actually personally buying a ticket for myself back in april, “inner crowd” founder, and my best friend, tiff managed to secure us all access passes to one of the best shows i’ve attended in a long time. 

one of the biggest challenges musicians face today is the curse of fans choosing to view a concert through their smartphone camera lenses, seemingly only attending to have video evidence that they were there. i’m sure all of you reading this can think of a show you’ve attended in the last couple of years that just wasn’t what you remember concerts used to be: a crowd full of people dancing and singing along to songs you all know the words to, living in the same moment you’ve looked forward to for months and wanting it to last forever. “collective effervescence,” or a “state of intense shared emotional activation and sense of unison that emerges during instances of collective behavior” was a feeling as a serial concert attender that i’ve experienced less and less as concerts are just seemingly different now. 

however, that feeling was reignited in me that night in that intimate venue in manhattan. 

from start to finish, BLK ODYSSY had the entire crowd captivated and engaged in enjoying every second of their electric performance. for every song they played the majority of those in attendance were just living in the moment, whether they were dancing or singing along, the vibes were just immaculate. although the venue had tables available, most of the seats stayed empty the entire time as the dance floor stayed packed. if anyone reading this was there you’d know that for many of the songs i was simultaneously taking pictures and singing along at the same time, happy to be in the same room as one of my favorite artists. not only was juwan just as talented on vocals live as in the studio (if not more talented), the skilled combo of guitarist alejandro rios and bassist jimmy blazer was captivating to watch, and drummer marcus jones really did an excellent job of tying everything together and keeping the good energy flowing throughout the entire performance. it is really a gift when the crowd can notice that a band truly enjoys performing together. 

something else that i can appreciate from this concert is the fact that they played a perfect balance of new songs from their most recent album as well as performing throwbacks that only OG fans would know. the varied flow of both upbeat songs like “phase” or “want you,” and slower songs like “saturday” or “suicide doors” were well received by the crowd. BLK ODYSSY expectedly also didn’t shy away from playing the songs with deeper, philosophical meanings behind them either. getting the chance to hear some of my favorite songs all within the same hour-ish performance is nothing short of a gift. the only disappointment i can say that i had out of the whole experience was no merch table :(( i honestly was ready to drop a baggggg (and i bet many fans could say the same!! juwan if you’re reading this let me buy a shirttttt)

i can genuinely say that this show was everything i was hoping it would be and more, and it’s a performance that will be hard to top by the live shows i’ll attend in the future. i haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since, and i can only hope for the opportunity to attend future BLK ODYSSY events upon their inevitable return to the east coast. and i can look forward to tiff, the newly converted fan, knowing all the words to the songs next time like i do 😉 

until next time, 

kaylee housler <3