Many years ago, I made a wish and it came true! - Chris Brown, 11:11 Tour by Enyjé Sandoz
If you know me, you know that my favorite artist in the entire world is Chris Brown. If you didn’t know, well – now, you are up to speed and informed.
From a small town in Virginia named Tappahannock, Chris Brown has taken the world by storm since his debut, self-titled album: Chris Brown.
Growing up, Chris was a staple in my household. Thus, I became fan-adjacent. Meaning, while I could recite all the words to the Chris Brown album (thanks to Saturday jam sessions with my older sister), or Get Like Me (thanks to my mom who present-day has the song on repeat, solely to hear Chris’ part), or Take You Down (courtesy to my sisters and cousin, even though I had no business listening to it and it explicitly defying my mom’s standards of appropriate music for her three, young daughters) – if only she knew… Take You Down was just the beginning (or better yet, the most obvious because self-titled album was full of innuendos, masked by the adorable face singing them), I wasn’t a fixture in his fan base, known as: Team Breezy.
Throughout the years I remained abreast of his music through my sister (the OG fan of the household but has since been dethroned), hence my self-proclaimed status of fan-adjacent. That all came to a screeching halt when I turned 13.
One month during the summer of 2014, I sat in the sunroom of my great-grandmother’s house, listening to the radio. Song after song poured through the radio speakers that doubled as a record player, but nothing caught my ear. I was more concerned with the lack of wifi, the fact I was in a dead zone in terms of cell phone service, and the little bit of service I did have was not sufficient to load Instagram or the latest chapter of my current read on Wattpad (if you know, you know).
Amid my frustration, a unique melody caught my ear. Something about it felt nostalgic yet new (no pun intended). Now, at full attention, the sounds of my sisters and cousins’ chatter were muted. It was as if it was just myself, the radio, and the current song in the room.
Instantly, I had a new favorite song. Despite me fucking up the chorus for a few days, I sang the song aloud – over and over again. From that moment forward, I was no longer fan-adjacent. I held the reins of my music preference, and I was riding in the direction of becoming full-on, Team Breezy.
Ten years later, just hours after attending the 11:11 tour, I chuckle: one, I laid down to (finally) go to bed, but the words for this post started flowing to me once I closed my eyes; two, if only I knew the journey this one song would lead to, and the one hell of a night I had (pun intended).
August 7th was a date ingrained in the back of my mind since I purchased my ticket at the end of March while sitting at my kitchen counter. It was three weeks after the pre-sale and public sale frenzy, and I was just hoping there was a ticket left for me to get. Prayerfully, I was able to score a floor seat.
From March to August, so much had transpired in my life. I turned 23 on the 26th of May; graduated from college with honors, two degrees, and a certificate (not to toot my own horn, but toot) in June; from April to July, I was on the emotional rollercoaster of being waitlisted and rejected to waitlisted and appealed to final decisions (rejections) from two 4-year universities, leaving me with a big ass question mark as to what’s next for me, considering I denied to admissions to the university I was accepted into (I had zero desire to go there), but that’s another story for another blog post.
Back to the 11:11 Tour
I have been busy and on auto-pilot. Even while getting my outfit together, brainstorming my hairstyle for the night, and jewelry – all things I love doing, my mind was off in another galaxy.
That all changed on August 6th. August 6th was when it hit me that I was seeing my favorite artist in concert again.
It had been seven years.
Before my 11:11 tour experience, I saw Chris in concert twice. My first time was on Halloween at Powerhouse 2014 in Philadelphia, PA (a Halloween well-spent); the second was in 2017 (April 1, 2017, to be exact), in Newark, NJ for the Party Tour.
Though the seven years seemingly flew by, I was well overdue to see my fave in concert.
August 6th was an epiphanic day. Not only did it fully register that I was just a day away from seeing my favorite artist again, I was doing so in Los Angeles. As a teenager, being a Jersey and East Coast girly, I only dreamed about attending an LA show as it was the finale. In terms of Chris's touring, the East Coast dates are fairly early on – my Party Tour show was the second show of the entire tour, so, for many years, I longed to attend an LA show. As of August 7th, my wish came to fruition.
Wednesday, August 7th, 2024
While checking off items of my to-do list (eyebrows, nails, hair – you know, girl things), I could not contain my excitement for the night ahead of me.
I arrived at the Crypto Arena at 8:40 pm. I unfortunately missed one of the opening artists, Maeta, and came in at the tail end of Muni Long performing her hit record: Made For Me.
As I descended the staircase that led to my seat, I merely missed a step (LOL). All was well – I made it to the floor in one piece. After having my ticket checked and receiving directions to my seat, I was still a bit clueless. So, I approached another guest service attendant. The kind gentleman escorted me to my seat which I was thankful for.
As I sat down in my seat, my left leg fervently bounced. I was either excitedly anxious or anxiously excited. I had no idea what to expect; I was diligent in avoiding tour content so that my first time experiencing the show was in-person and not through my phone screen. As every minute ticked by with anticipation, my leg bounced even faster.
My leg-bouncing assuaged as the countdown began. Seconds later, my fave rose to vision to the opener of his latest album (standard edition), 11:11 (the namesake of the tour), Angel Numbers/Ten Toes.
From Angel Numbers/Ten Toes to Chris soaring over the crowd and landing on the iconic B stage to DJ Fresh impressively keeping the momentum and morale high between acts, to the last song of the night (Grass Ain’t Greener), my butt did not touch my seat again nor did I shut up. I was giving full-on choreography and singing my heart out – I might as well have been on stage with Chris and his phenomenal dancers.
When Chris announced that Grass Ain’t Greener was the last song, I nearly cried, but I held my composure. I, so badly, did not want the night to end! The show could have gone on for another five hours (he has the catalog and stamina to do so), and I would’ve still been singing, dancing, and cheering.
The 11:11 tour was truly magical. As I write this (it has to be at least 2-3 am, August 8th), I am still digesting the magnitude of what it means to witness Chris Brown in concert. It is un-fucking-belivable.
The production alone was insane: flames resembling 11:11, the different colored strobe lights that added to the ambiance of the song being performed, the tour visuals – the fact he flipped his way over the crowd from one stage to the next. Like, come on!
The way he engaged the audience from all sides of the arena made everyone feel included no matter where they were seated; his inclusion of different versions of his songs, the sparks, and loud explosions coordinated with the music.
Of course, his singing – impeccable. I practically lost my mind during the performance of Residuals; his dancing – he’s a contortionist, no other way of putting it. Him – a beautiful sight to see among the other eye-catching theatrics of the show itself.
He is truly a gift to this world; it goes far beyond his talents. I am eternally grateful that I get to cherish and relish witnessing such divinity in real-time.
The 11:11 tour exceeded what I could have imagined, tenfold. If there is a word more potent than magical, I’d use it to describe my 11:11 tour experience. Nirvanic.
The word fun cannot even begin to encompass the time I had. I feel renewed; my flames of passion have been reignited – me writing this at 2:56 am indicative of that fire burning.
All I have to say is:
Wow. What a fucking night.
woowwww!
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