Patience Wall
The first stage I would like to address is the Charmaine Neville performance at Snug Harbor. The week before last, we attended jazz singer Charmaine Neville's performance at Snug Harbor on Frenchmen Street, and I can honestly say that it was an enjoyable lesson in stage presence and performance. Ms. Neville did an amazing job engaging the audience. She invited many of us up to stage to perform and become part of the show. This part of the show particularly resonated with me due to my prior experience being on stage and performing my own work; I have performed some of my own work in shows prior to that evening. However, I have always struggled with getting on stage and being confident. My nerves are my worst enemy when it comes to singing in front of a crowd, but they did not win in this experience. Ms. Neville called me to the stage and told me to sing along with her INTO THE MIC! (AHHHH!). Of course, I was freaking out. She called this “baptism by fire,” and I can say that being thrown into the fire worked for me. I was nervous during the first thirty seconds or so, but I eventually fell into the flow on stage. I’m even proud to say that I made a few jokes and improvisations, a little goofy and awkward ones but not bad. This was the first stage.
The second stage was the Jay-Z and Beyoncé “On the Run Tour” performance at the Superdome. I originally had not planned on attending the concert, but I was pleasantly surprised with tickets on the day of the event. This surprise was truly the highlight of my summer. I got to sit 9 ROWS from the MAIN STAGE in the FRONT on the FLOOR of the Superdome!! Everything was amazing from the singing, to the rapping, to the dancing, and the list goes on, and I feel so blessed to have gotten a chance to witness their performance that close. This was the second stage.
You may have noticed that I kept this post a little brief, but it’s just that I don’t feel like words could do these experiences justice. Thus, I have decided to post concert pictures along with this post in order to properly share my experience with blog readers. Enjoy!!!