Monica Blaire Live At the DIA

On Friday January 8, 2010 Detroit's soulful songstress, Monica Blaire, broke records. I know what you're thinking..."Did she hit a high note and break a glass?" "Did Monica get the most amount of roses thrown on the stage in one show?" "Oh I know...Monica had the most costume changes?" Well unfortunatley she broke none of the above records. But what she DID do is bring in the most amount of people in the DIA's performance theatre. Over 900+ people were blown away by Monica Blaire's performance. I will be honest, I had never seen a show in the DIA, but I felt like I was in the packed room at the Fox Theatre.

This was no tiny show either. Monica is a show stopper. I've seen her perform countless times, but never in a setting like this. Monica didn't just give you a show, she gave you two! The first set was fun and full of energy. She even started the show on a low-rider bike...so gangster! She brought down the house in her first set with a surprise performance of "Renaissance State of Mind" with Ro Spit. What made the set even more epic was the big screen behind her stage set up that added a visual layer to the show.

The second set reminded everyone in attendance of where they were...Motown! Monica Blaire is the essence of Detroit Soul. Her band isn't just a DJ playing her tracks. Her band has horns, keys and percussion! If that weren't enough, she brought out Detroit Hip-Hop heavyweight Marv Won to spit a few quick bars. AND IF THAT weren't enough (at this point I honestly thought the show could get no better)...*shapow* out comes Burn Rubber Co-Owner Rick Williams who absolutely bodied the stage in a skat/tap duet with Monica Blaire. With the soul and power of Aretha, the energy of James Brown and the captivating presence reminiscent of Eryka Badu, Monica Blaire is a force to be reckoned with. And I promise you, you will look back on this year and go, "yea that was Monica Blaire's year"

I hooked you up with some goodies below.

Check out M-Bleezy's performance of "Promise Me" with Rick Williams....



Now on to what you've been waiting for...stills from the classic night. I did my best to capture moving moments throughout the night. I hope you like them.