Photos By: Summer Luu
By: Kayli Stix
Miguel‘s band trickled onto Observatory North Park‘s stage, dressed in all white, pumping up the crowd to make more noise for the rockstar to come out. Miguel appeared out of wispy clouds of smoke, floating him towards the crowd. From head to toe, Miguel was dressed in all white; his white leather jacket wide open to reveal his washboard abs and tattoos. As he took the stage, he gave a seductive smirk to the fans in the front. He looked like a Greek god mixed with a fallen Angel as he raised his arms and began serenading us with crowd favorites, “The Thrill” and “Sure Thing“.
Miguel is a pure entertainer. He manhandled his mic stand, owned the stage and fully stepped into his role of being a sexually energized R&B rockstar. He jumped, did the splits (yes, he did the freakin’ splits) and flew into the air with kicks and punches–revealing the true Prince & Michael Jackson inside. He knew that the more he touched his six-pack and became more sensual, the more that the girls (and guys) would go wild. And he did just that…Touching his sweaty body made the audience cry out for more…you can’t blame him for knowing how to work the game.
He didn’t do too much serenading to our demise since 99% of the show seemed to be of production value and less on the sweet soulful R&B singer that we all know and remember Miguel to be. There was a videographer onstage getting the highlights and the crowd, making it feel more like a rock and roll show than an intimate gathering. Yet, there were special moments during the night that made Miguel less of a celebrity and more of an honest and true human being.
Towards the middle of his set, Miguel went on a semi-long tangent and spoke directly to the crowd about how “the biggest distraction you could have is in the palm of your hand, right now”. Miguel gave his background story of growing up half African-American and half Mexican; he felt as though he never belonged anywhere. He went on to say that “being different is okay” and that it doesn’t matter what color you are as long as you stay true to yourself and be yourself. The sentiments of a true emotional artist that has struggled with his identity and he laid it all out on the table for us, without hesitation. This tangent was a gateway into his story behind his newest album, Wildheart, and a bridge into “What’s Normal Anyway”, an anthem to those dual-identity struggles.
Near the end of his set, Miguel wanted to get real close to his fans. When I mean, real close, I mean literally crowd surfing on top of them and taking selfies or snapchats with them. He didn’t get very far since security had him on a short leash and knew that he wouldn’t come out alive if he was willingly fed to a sea of hungry teenage fans. As the night withered away with “Adorn”, “Coffee”, “Do You…” and “How Many Drinks?”, the crowd was pleased Miguel ended with a couple of their favorite libations.