Miguel Rocks NYC With the "War & Leisure" Tour

“I came to rock this mother fucking world!”

— Miguel

This is exactly what Miguel did one week ago at the Manhattan stop of his 'War & Leisure' Tour.

Okay, so let's rewind, back to the beginning. It was Miguel's "Girl with the Tattoo Enter-Lewd," off of his 2010 debut album, 'All I Want Is You' that brought me in as a fan. Then of course his missile to mainstream success would be the release of "Adorn" and who could stop singing that song? I remained a strong supporter throughout his 'Wildheart' era. At this point I was living in New York City and wanted to see him live but missed the opportunity. However, life moves on and he delivered his next era, which brings us to now.

This new 'War & Leisure' era was inspired by the outcome of the 2016 United States general election and all of the events that transpired after. It even inspired a brand new look from the artist, as he left his clean cut image and pompadour for a more relaxed look with twists hair. Along with it came some of Miguel's most socially charged music.

Shortly after the album's release came the tour announcement and I wasted no time in purchasing my ticket. That was back in December... March 24 rolled around quite quickly, in hindsight. So I arrived at the venue (Terminal 5) at 6:50pm just in time for the meet-and-greet.

Out of the three most recent meet-and-greets that I have done, this was the smoothest and quickest process. The conversation with the people in line helped the time to move along. In the interim of waiting to meet Miguel we caught sight of a waiver on the wall for Tidal. It turned out that this particular concert date was going to be live streamed. Oh damn, the excitement level went up a few notches.

I was in the last group of people who were escorted upstairs to meet Miguel. We were all lined up before the concert concierge who informed us of the do's and don'ts for when we meet Miguel. I was also surprised that it was not an overwhelming amount of people to meet him but then again there was price control... So fast forward to me being next in line. I was surprisingly chill but then the word "next" was directed my way.

I walked around the corner of the step-and-repeat and there he was, chilled as ever. Me and my awkward ass went in for a traditional handshake and he did one of those "bro" handshakes that to this day I cannot get right. He stands at about 5'7" and smelled good as hell. His energy was really organic. I don't know what that means but it sounds appropriate. We exchanged some casual words and then posed it up for a photo. I didn't know what to do because you know these male artists, their image is so important as far as showing affection towards the same sex. I kept it really professional, layered one hand over the other and kept it moving as we had a limited time. I looked back as I was walked away and the guy was still talking to me. I sensed that he really enjoyed engaging with his fans.

After that experience I walked on down to the front of the stage. I had a prime viewing spot. It was minutes before 8pm when the rest of the concert goers were about to be let in. I cringed because I never was so close to a stage before but at the same time I wanted a beer. I jetted for a beer just in time before the other attendees to stormed the stage.

At 9pm on the dot, Nonchalant Savant, the first opening act hit the stage. It was made very clear that he is Miguel's blood brother. He performed "mixed sIgnals" and my favorite, "vino," beating on his Conga drums. Following him at 9:30pm was the second opening act, SiR. Now as talented as he is, I just was not feeling him; his tempo was so low. For me, he had one saving grace moment and that was his performance of "D'Evils." He had all of us singing along, "Ca one spliff a day'll keep the evil away."

It was time for Miguel. There was a break of about 20 minutes before the lights went down. The giant screen started playing fan videos recorded by Tidal just moments before. What followed was the entrance of a true performer. As I type this I am thinking back to what I witnessed last week... He was so incredible. The entire two hours, yes two hours, were electrifying.

There were so many standout moments but the ones that remained with me the most was one, I stood next to this married couple and they were saying how "Sure Thing" was one of their wedding songs. So when Miguel performed the song they kissed passionately which was really sweet. Two, he brought his brother on stage to perform with him which led to three, him crowd surfing. It didn't stop there, he crowd surfed on top of me, HOLY FAKKIN' SHIT! I really did not expect it, it truly caught me off guard in the best way. He came back for an encore performance of three songs. When he started singing "Pussy Is Mine" the level of moisture in the audience definitely increased. He later closed out the show with 'War & Leisure's' kick-off single, "Sky Walker."

Man oh man, Miguel was solidified as one my all time favorite artists after finally seeing him perform live after all of these years. This man's stature is not the biggest but he just exudes sex appeal and everything he does is so natural and effortless. He was worth every single penny and more. The man is simply incredible.