MNEK Concert Review: March 2019
MNEK announced his first North American tour shortly after I got into him. It was to be only 6 stops but one of them was Washington D.C. and I definitely wanted to go. I got 2 tickets for my husband and myself but at the last minute my husband had to back out due to work obligations. So I invited my friend Will, who is a big music junkie like myself, and had liked what he had heard from MNEK.
The concert was held at a small place on the water front called Union Stage. It was just a block away from The Anthem where I had seen Troye Sivan & Kim Petras. Like The Anthem it was pretty new as well. There was a small bar/eatery upstairs and downstairs was the stage with another bar. I went straight there after work and met up with my friend Will. Since we had time to kill before MNEK took the stage we ordered a pizza which was thin crust and delicious! We ended up ordering a second one we liked it so much. I would go back to Union Stage just for the pizza. Plus it felt like I was combining two of my greatest loves at once, pizza and gay pop music.
In between eating though I went downstairs to buy a T-Shirt at the merch table that said Stay Fabulous Honey on the front and MNEK on the back. Unfortunately despite the bar only taking credit cards, the merch table only accepted cash and I had none on me. So I did something I never do, I went to an ATM machine because there was no way I was not buying that shirt! Of the gay pop T-shirts I currently own this one is my favorite for the simple reason that the phrase "Stay Fabulous Honey" is wonderful. It gets reactions out of everyone even if they don't know MNEK or his music. Plus it's just good advice.
This show was even more intimate than the shows with Troye Sivan and Years & Years as I was only about 20 feet back from the stage for MNEK. He came roaring out of the gate with Correct and was supported by his dance troupe the Kiki! The Kiki are 4 gay men who have been close friends with MNEK for a while now. The Kiki were GREAT! All 4 of them had charisma and charm to burn and they danced their asses off for the entire show. I also was blown away at how once again MNEK was subverting hip-hop culture with the KIKI. Instead of sexy females strutting around for the male gaze it was these 4 men dancing around in revealing outfits that made them feel even more empowered and free. They were not subservient to MNEK, they were his equals and again I had never experienced anything like it before.
Still MNEK was the star of the show, something he had to remind one member of the audience who tried to out sing him at one point. MNEK mocked the audience member gently and it as all in a good fun but MNEK was definitely a diva from top to bottom. This was his show and he was not gonna blow it. Like all great divas MNEK had a voice that could shake mountains. Of all the gay pop stars I have seen live MNEK had the most impressive vocals. Troye, Olly, and Kim all sounded great live and Olly and Kim really belted it out themselves but MNEK's voice was next level like a Christina Aguilera or Lady Gaga. MNEK's voice is not to be underestimated.
Since this was his first U.S. tour too he tried to cram as much into one show as possible which meant every track off his latest album, stray singles & collaborations and a mega mix medley of all 5 songs off his 2015 debut EP were performed in less than 90 minutes. I was very happy that he performed every song off his debut EP because I love those songs as much as the best songs off his full length album. My friend Will actually likes that EP the most and his favorite MNEK songs are all off that EP. My 2 favorite off that EP recall classic RnB. The first song Every Little Word sounds like an early 90s New Jack Swing song that could have been recorded by Color Me Badd or Bobby Brown while In Your Clouds reminds me strongly of 70s soul (That flute is great.) I wasn't sure if he would perform my favorite song Body off his new album because I had not seen it listed on the set list from his New York City show the night before. Luckily he did sing Body and as he announced the song I yelled very enthusiastically. I may have gotten a few stares.
Also while the audience was smaller than the previous gay pop concerts I had attended it was still fun seeing everybody there enjoying each other's company and the music while being able to relax and be themselves in a safe space. The guy next to me was dancing and singing along so much to every song he was in his own world which I loved seeing.
MNEK ended his show with Tongue another certified bop. My friend Will was just as impressed as I had been and I told him he needed to come to more gay pop shows with me in the future. Overall I was extremely impressed with MNKE just like I had been with Troye, Kim and Olly. I was on a hot streak for gay pop concerts at this point and I was starting to feel like gay pop concerts were the only concerts I ever wanted to attend for the rest of my life. The next one was just around the corner and it would turn out to be even more special. The intimacy I had felt at these gay pop shows was nothing compared to what I was about to experience next.
