Such A Beautiful Day

I played violin for all of two weeks when I was in middle school. I remember being super excited to bring it home and excited to master the craft, much like I had done with classical piano. That’s not the way it went down. I don’t think I got much more out of that violin other than a squeak or two, but out of nowhere, the violin was gone. My dad had made it disappear. Okay, I’m sure that’s not how it actually went down, but I didn’t blame him for nudging me back to the piano (my first true love). I never had aspirations to be a famous violinist. Although I regret not sticking with it, I knew it wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel the magic behind those strings like I did behind the pearly whites of a piano. That being said, when I saw that Black Violin was making a stop at The Dakota, I couldn’t help but relive my short-lived time with a violin. I may not remember how to play certain notes, but I remember seeing other kids kill the violin and remember the technique and thinking it was all so delicate, so stunning. I was ready to see an act take that and blend it with something a bit more up my alley. I was ready to be wowed, but I wasn’t expecting to be so moved by the performance on Thursday.

What came first? The hip-hop influence or the classical violin. In the case of Black Violin, the act I saw on Thursday night, I would say it was kind of hand in hand. Fronted by Kevin Sylvester (Kev Marcus) and Wilner Baptiste (Wil B.), Black Violin is a truly one-of-a-kind act. Joined on stage by DJ SPS and an absolutely incredible drummer, Black Violin wasted no time plunging the excited audience into a foreign yet familiar world. I loved the way that this group wasn’t afraid to be different. They did a little bit of everything, from classical standards to hip-hop covers, and the way they blended it all together was truly stunning.

Let’s talk about the more standard parts of their set. I’ll be honest, I don’t have song times or original composers to list off, but there were a few tracks that Black Violin performed that were traditional classical (or at least as traditional classical as this group can get). These were the moments where I was truly stunned by the talent I was seeing. With Kevin on violin and Wilner on viola, I was half expecting to see smoke starting to rise from the necks of their respective instruments. They were playing with a sense of fury, but they made it look so easy. Every note had a place, every beat had a perfect length, and every crescendo made my heart soar while the rests made me move to the edge of my seat as if that would help the music continue quicker. Although I didn’t come to see the classical side of this band (well, not exactly at least), I was left floored by their talent and quickly realized that had this entire show just been their more standard classical songs, I would have been more than satisfied with my night.

It was the hip-hop-infused tracks that I was at this show for, and they gave them all to me and then some. This group really hit it big after appearing on Showtime at the Apollo. They won one week, but it didn’t stop there. They kept on winning over, and over, and over again. Eventually, they moved on to bigger and better things, but not before their distinct classical hip-hop violin sound took over the world. With the help of DJ SPS, Black Violin took classic and new hip-hop songs and turned them into classical-infused works of genius. I’m not going to give up the set-list or ruin any surprises by telling you all of the songs that this band played throughout their show on Thursday, but I will say that there were moments throughout their set where sitting still was not working out for me or the rest of the audience, and by the end of the show, Black Violin had the entire audience on their feet.

The music of Black Violin was amazing, and the creativity lit a fire under my butt that I have been in need of for a hot minute now, but that was not the highlight for me. The highlight of this show for me was this young boy who had a seat right next to the stage. When the show really got moving and grooving and got heavy on the hip-hop infused music, this little kid just couldn’t contain himself. He pushed his chair back and into the table, stood up, and started dancing. He wasn’t just raising his hands and hopping along to the infectious beat. He was losing it, break dancing in a way that only a kid would. He had no shame, no fear, and not a single care in the world, and something about watching him made me emotional. When did we lose this spark of fun? When did it become uncool to let it be known when you like something? Why were all of the adults just sitting in their chairs during this show when, clearly, there were moments that were meant to be danced to? Moments that made you feel something. Why were we, as adults, hiding it? At the end of the set, Kevin gave this kid the sweaty hat that he had had on all night. It was a small gesture, but I saw it as a nod of appreciation, a thanks, to this kid for living his best life and letting the music truly move him wherever and however it wanted to. That hat wasn’t just given to that kid; it was given to the audience. Maybe I’m being dramatic, but this small moment in a truly amazing show was just a good reminder that life is too short– dance if you want.

I could go on and on about Thursday night’s performance. I could take days about all of the amazing things that this group does as far as philanthropy goes (check out The Black Violin Foundation and please get involved or donate if you can!), but Thursday night was one of those nights that I kind of want to selfishly keep to myself. It was a night for my soul and for me, and it was beyond perfect.