So I think I am still functioning on West Coast time, hence why I’m up at 1am writing and playing with photos while on vaca. New York and DC/VA have been good to me so far. Time away from the hustle to settle the mind has been long overdue.

Turns out The Big Apple is full of surprises too; Monday night sitting next to Trevor Noah, Tuesday lunch being served mustard fried chicken with a side of honey, and on Tuesday night seeing Gina Lee perform out of the blue! Winning!

I became very fond of Gina Lee’s Preview EP when I discovered it back in the summer of 2011. No Hands was fun, I Love It became a summertime anthem for a couple of weeks, and I still remember arguing with a friend and journalist about the feminist qualities of Rich Boy. It was an EP of significance that year.

As new albums got released and other artist were discovered Gina Lee began to fade from my musical repertoire. Every now and again she’d pop in to my mind, I’d give the EP a spin and I’d wonder what she’s up to now.

In all honestly I never really checked up. I assumed she’d stopped putting out new music. Like so many singers with a tonne of potential having to push her talent to the fringes when the brutal reality of making it in today’s music industry start to hit home a little too hard…

…and then she pops up to do a short set while I’m on vacation! Like I said, winning! Turns out Gina Lee went and fought for it. She worked night and day for it, and in the time since The Preview EP she has crafted, refined and energised to become one hell of an artist.

Her three song set at SOBs for BET’s Music Matters was like a bass-laden mini rush of adrenaline; as if the Energizer bunny was running on an entire power-station. Gina Lee and her dancers were bouncing and effervescent; full of life and being spurred on by some fierce dance-encouraging R&B. I also loved how she was able to give such a big performance in such a confined space. F**k being refined in an intimate setting, she went all in. How they managed to fit a band, two dancers giving it their all, and Gina prowling ever crevice, corner and inch of the tiny SOBs stage bemused me!

In the time I was not paying close attention to Gina Lee she has taken big strides towards fulfilling her potential. Seeing her on stage last night was actually quite inspiring because it felt like a personification of that never give up mentality. I genuinely hope that from here she can fly… and while she’s flying she stops off in San Francisco for a gig or two!

Rob

Ps. Typical… 2^nd night running I leave my SLR at home just in case it’s taken from me at the door. Turns out no one would’ve been bothered! So a couple of shots from me little compact camera below!