Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
Returning to the New York City area for the second time in 2019, Robyn headlined Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Opening the show with a 7PM set were legendary New York band, ESG, who are celebrating their 41st anniversary this year. The South Bronx band which stands for Emerald Sapphire & Gold, was started by the Scroggins sisters and many of their songs have been sampled throughout the hip hop genre. Kicking off their set with “Dance,” followed by “UFO” and a few tracks from their last studio album, What More Can You Take? plus older ones such as “You Make No Sense,” “Erase You, ” “Strange Creatures Dance,” “You’re No Good,” and “Moody.” My only wish for their set was that the sound should have been louder to fill the arena. When their set was over, the house music had better sound and we got to hear “Moody” an additional two times since the cover by Christian Falk and Neneh Cherry was played between their set and Robyn’s.
Taking the stage around 9PM, Robyn began with “Send to Robin Immediately,” from Honey, which was released in October 2018, plus other songs from that record including the title track, “Beach2k20,” “Ever Again,” “Because It’s in the Music” while the set also included her older material such as “Indestructible,” “Love Is Free” (which she was joined by NY rapper Maluca), “Dancing On My Own,” and “Call Your Girlfriend.” Throughout Robyn’s performance, it felt as if the entire audience were on their feet, dancing throughout the entire arena. Standing towards the back of the general admission area, the two security guards next to me couldn’t resist dancing too, especially during “Girlfriend.” Robyn stopped singing during that song allowing the audience to take over and it was one of my favorite moments of the night.
