On Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, guitarist and prolific music producer Steve Lacy brought his unique, funky groove to The House of Blues in New Orleans.  
A somber mood filled the venue during Lacy’s first performance on his first headlining tour.
I entered the concert hall around 8:30 p.m.to witness his opening act, Kari Fauxx. Lacy arrived to the stage on time, a first for any concert I have experienced. Lacy started his show with his song “Only If,” followed up with the track “Like Me,” you could tell the crowd was catching Lacy’s vibes. However, given his immense talent and personality, his whole show felt extremely underwhelming. 
While putting on a fantastic performance with little accents he had on stage, the show seemed bare.  The stage behind Lacy was adorned by only a plant, a few speakers and some lights. Although Lacy gave a stellar performance, it felt as if there should have been more to his show. He walked around: dancing and jiving to his funky sound and communicating with his audience members, even accepting a couple of notes from the crowd. (One audience member offered their crutch to Lacy, which he politely declined.) As the show progressed, the crowd became loud and obnoxious, and it was evident that Lacy could tell. One fan became so intoxicated they had to be carried out of the venue. 
Towards the final quarter of the show Lacy left the stage for a costume change, while the track Amandla’s Interludefilled up the dark room of fans, and returned wearing what he called his “non-assless chaps,” and a t-shirt, which displayed his various tattoos. He played more songs off his record, EP, and singles, which sprung excitement through the crowd. At the end of his show he gave everyone one final farewell, “New Orleans, thank you so much for having me,” he said, “It’s been a blast,” while blowing kisses to the crowd and throwing up peace signs, he headed off the stage. Despite the lackluster crowd and small venue, Lacy did the best he could to put on a fantastic show. All in all, he was great; Steve Lacy deserves more flair and a larger crowd.