GoldLink in Vancouver! Touring season is upon us, and last week Vancouver was in for a treat when GoldLink brought his “At What Cost” Tour for a sold-out show at the Commodore Ballroom – an evening hosted by Blueprint Events. Saxophonist/jazz specialist/beat maker-turned-artist Masego opened the evening. Some may say that he even stole the show after withdrawing his saxophone for much of his set and delivering an extremely passioned performance that set the perfect atmosphere for GoldLink to embrace an already heightened crowd.
It was quickly apparent that Masego is a true artist, and he smashed all of our expectations for how Jazz-influenced music can be performed similar to the way he has been smashing our ideals for where it resides in mainstream music culture. By the time that GoldLink was welcomed to the stage, there was no doubt that this was already one of the best shows this half of year, and we had only witnessed the opener.
GoldLink’s hit record “Crew” may have easily secured itself as one of the top singles of 2017, and it’s no surprise that it warranted an encore performance last week. The Teddy Walton-produced single had an almost viral effect following its’ release, and there wasn’t one person in the venue who wasn’t singing the track word-for-word. But it was truly the crowd’s energy that had a greater euphoric effect and brought Masego back to the stage to perform alongside GoldLink.
From listening to his renditions from his recent album At What Cost it was easy to recognize that he’s finally found a greater appreciation for his sound, the same way that Anderson .Paak was finally appreciated after releasing Malibu. Soulful music doesn’t always receive the initial appreciation that it deserves, but it always finds longevity and a solid fan base that can’t be tampered with.
The capacity show last week only further proved that GoldLink is in for a long and prosperous career that will outlast many other musical sub-genres. His live performance matched, if not exceeded, our anticipations. If you have a chance to take in one of his shows we can guarantee it will surpass yours as well.
Check out photos of GoldLink in Vancouver below:
Photography by Jamie Sands for HipHopCanada
