Loving New York, crying to heartbreak you’ve never experienced, and low-rise jeans: The sounds of growing up in the early 2000s was a great time, especially with the dawn of the career of the one and only Alicia Keys. It’s safe to say when Keys announced her tour ‘Keys to the Summer’ was stopping in Cleveland people were eager to reminisce and have fun, as well as fast forward to the future to hear Key’s current catalog of songs! That’s exactly what took place at Rocket Mortgage Field House on Saturday (07.15.2023).
The lights dimmed and Keys’ angelic voice amplified all around the venue as she opened the show with her 2001 hit, “Fallin.” The classically trained pianist made her way through the fans on the floor and up onto the stage. (It was quite the entrance!) She arrived onstage and took a seat at her sparkling piano. Keys wasted no time playing the well-known song. As expected, the crowd went wild, swaying and singing as if they were all on stage with Alicia. As she continued to dance, her fingers tickling the keys, the piano began to spin so that everyone could get a good look.
The Grammy Award winner kept the crowd thoroughly entertained with music from her entire discography. Weaving in and out of newer songs and those everyone loves such as “Girl on Fire,” “Love Looks Better” and “Karma”. Keys even performed a couple of covers that were a nice element of surprise. Most notably, Keys gave a beautiful rendition of “Sweet Dreams” by Eurythmics that had everyone on their feet singing along.
Throughout the duration of the performance, there were some mesmerizing visuals displayed that correlated with the true meanings and feelings of certain songs. In particular, during “Superwoman” from 2007’s ‘As I Am,’ photos of different people that identify as women were shown on the four giant screens that were adorned from the ceiling. The photos, along with Keys passionately exclaiming how every female in the crowd is indeed, super, was a powerful thing to witness.
Keys was backed by a stellar band all night. She disappeared after “My Boo,” giving her band an opportunity to shine. And SHINE they did! The showcase included some serious uitar shredding, a man of many keyboards, and a powerful-piped backing singer who hails from the C-L-E!
The New York native can’t perform without showing love for her hometown. One would have thought they were in said town if they didn’t know any better. “Empire State of Mind,” her collaborative hit with rapper Jay-Z, had the arena shaking with the amount of sheer passion that was coming out of every individual present. It felt like the perfect end to a great night. (Lucky for everyone, Keys wasn’t done yet!)
A few songs later, fans were hit with a one-two punch of “No One” and “If I Ain’t Got You.” After the first verse, the crowd did as asked by its Savioress, devotedly singing the chorus with her after a dramatic pause:
“Some people want it all
But I don’t want nothing at all
If it ain’t you, baby
If I ain’t got you, baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain’t got you, yeah.”
All in all, Ms. Keys gave the people exactly what they wanted and needed, from her powerful vocals, lyrics that resonate, the laser light show, some newer tunes, and much-deserved nostalgia. It was definitely a night to remember.
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