All Photos by Lauren Hernandez 📸
Celebrating two decades in the music industry, Chris Brown brought his Breezy Bowl XX to the Alamodome. It’s his first stadium tour ever and his biggest headline show to date in San Antonio, enlisting R&B standouts Bryson Tiller and Jhené Aiko to open up for him, and man, these fans couldn’t have been more ready for them.
The first artist up was Bryson Tiller, whom I immediately remembered with “Don’t” in particular being a huge hit, along with his smooth feature on “Wild Thoughts.” Hearing him perform both of these tracks live was very cool. While I wish he had done more live vocals and used less of a backing track, his voice, when heard, did shine through, making for a solid act to open the night.
I was especially looking forward to seeing Jhené Aiko next, whose music I’ve known since middle school, hearing her features with artists like Drake and Childish Gambino. My friend Melody is a huge fan of hers, which made me really excited to tell her how she was.
Unfortunately, her performance had a few sound issues, with a few delays in her vocals, and her mic in general was very quiet during most of her set. These issues were disappointing, especially since there was a point in her set where she really didn’t do any live vocals for a few consecutive songs. During these songs, she was still very much vibing and having fun with her dancers, but I feel like with an artist like Jhené, you really want to hear those strong vocals as they’re such a defining part of her artistry.
Thankfully, the sound much improved towards the end of her set, such as with “The Worst” and “Triggered (freestyle),” and her voice sounded gorgeous in the stadium during these moments.
But my goodness, when Chris Brown came out, I couldn’t think of many shows before where I’ve seen a crowd absolutely erupt the way they did. He took fans on a journey through his entire career, with a massive setlist of at least 50 songs that were pulled from every era of his expansive catalog.
He had a huge group of background dancers, multiple costume changes, and some very ambitious stage production. There was a segment when he donned an LED vest that lit up symbols tied to each song, he had a B-stage full of risqué and sensual lap dances, and had an over-the-top spectacle when he traveled to and from this stage by soaring over the Alamodome crowd.
I thought P!nk would be the only one to try something crazy like this, so it was really a sight to see Chris Brown do it. I initially thought to myself that he has no song where he needs to be doing all of that, but at the same time, it was quite entertaining seeing him pull this off during a high-energy song like “Look At Me Now.”
The fans were clearly thrilled by how far he took his production, with his setlist being packed full of hits. From earlier tracks in his career like “With You,” “Kiss Kiss,” and “She Ain’t You,” to the later ones like “No Guidance” and “Under the Influence,” it was truly a career-spanning set. Video interludes were also featured that showcased the trajectory of his career and the highs and lows that have come with it, including scenes with his kids and his family.
I’ll admit that I’ve never really been a Chris Brown fan, as I was more into his music when I was younger, but I’ve never had a doubt in my mind that he’s an amazing singer and dancer, and he definitely proved it live. For all of those in attendance who were huge Breezy fans, they got a dream show that was everything they could’ve asked for – a fantastic and unforgettable celebration of 20 years of Chris Brown.
