H-O-V-A himself graced the stage of GM Place a couple weeks back and from the video above, you can see that Vancouver thought it was a long time coming.

Vancouver's own DJ Flipout opened the show and it was unfortunate that Wale & J.Cole had to cancel the day before (reasons unknown). However, N*E*R*D & Toronto-based RHEA rocked the Place, adding a new element to the band for sure.

Memphis Bleek also shared the stage with Jay-Z, and as much as I was hoping for Alicia Keys to make a surprise appearance when he performed "Empire State of Mind," the other female vocalist he brought out was also talented (unsure of her name).

My favorite moment had to be when Jay-Z pointed out all his fans in the audience and gave every appreciation for coming out to his concert while "Forever Young" played in the background.

Drove down to Tacoma straight from the Jay-Z Concert to check out one of the greatest R&B Kings, Mr.Brian Mcknight.
Wasn't sure what to expect, but he definitely made the night right.

He started off with a tribute to Michael Jackson with "I Want You Back" and from there he was continuously entertaining, very funny and even brought out his sons (Nico & Brian Jr.) who are also singers (stay tuned for their album release coming soon).

Definitely worth the drive down.

- Danielle Ow

One of the greatest female R&B groups of all time, En Vogue came to bless the PNE with a line-up of their best hits.

(Video by Anna Mae)

I had the chance to check out Alicia Keys in Manila while I was in the Philippines last summer.
For the price of nosebleed ticket here in Vancouver, we were able to sit in the 2nd row in Manila.
The concert was supposed to take place in the outdoor theatre of Mall of Asia, but the rainy season caused a change of venue to the SMX Convention Centre (still an awesome venue).

The Philippines definitely loves Ms.Keys, as the convention center was filled from front to back (people paid $10 CAD to stand the whole night in the verrrrry back room where you could only see Alicia Keys through TV Monitors).

Her performance was great (save for a few questionable dance moves and head twirls) and it was truly an unrealistic experience to be so close to her.

MIA is undeniably talented and her eccentric sounds and style are what make her a favorite performing artist, no doubt.

The minute we found out MIA was coming to Vancouver back in November ’07 (man, it was THAT LONG AGO already?), we scooped up tickets. Hearing it was being held at the Commodore Ballroom made it even more exciting – that venue is one of the best places to have a live show.

There was no doubt that everyone wanted to share the MIA experience – she scheduled two different dates and both shows were SOLD OUT! The place was jam packed and you could feel everyone’s excitement...

Of course the one thing about going to these shows is always getting pushed around by the more taller (drunk?) people, but we didn’t let that ruin our night…

The Cool Kids came out to open and started the party right with some old-school sounding tracks like “Black Mags” and even asked a whole bunch of ladies to come up on stage and “attempt?” to dance (as seen in the video below):

In recent years the “Concert Vacation” has become an increasingly popular destination for me, despite the lack of funds most times. Having grown up in Edmonton, Alberta, few concerts found their way to us. You always had to find them.

Although I live in Vancouver now where there is a definite increase of concert availability, I still find myself travelling to distant places to enjoy some great live music. For me, buying concert tickets has been equivalent to buying food. I just can’t help it. Amel Larrieux in Seattle. Rock the Bells in San Francisco. Common in Las Vegas. Mariah Carey in Edmonton. Kanye West in Toronto. John Legend in Vancouver. Oscar D’Leon in Calgary. Sonora Carruseles in Montreal.

For nearly 4 months last year I carefully planned a trip to Las Vegas in May for the sole purpose of finally seeing Miss Alicia Keys perform live at the MGM Grand Arena for her “As I Am” tour. I was desperate to see her....

Danielle & I had planned a trip to New York City and found out that Common was going to be having a show while we were there. Common is one of Danielle’s FAVORITE artists and I have never seen him perform live before so we snatched up a couple tickets!

(I think Danielle and I went on our NYC trip at a good time because it was during the VH1 Hip Hop Honors awards and by coincidence we ended up partying alongside Busta Rhymes + Spliff, Timbaland, Missy Elliot, Grand Puba, DJ Red Alert, Keri Hilson and T.I.)

The show was at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square and it was perhaps the best Venue to host Common (well, besides Madison Square Garden). The energy coming off from the audience is one you couldn’t compare – it seems like the concert goers in the USA are a lot more hype than us Vancouver-folk...

Common put on a crazy show and did all the favorites, including "The Light":

Just when we thought it was over, KRS-ONE and BLACK SHEEP came out of nowhere on-stage and threw out a few tracks and freestyles with Common & Q-Tip:

- Marjolyn Ustaris

The clip aboveis a video of me dancing with my favorite R&B artist, JON B -

It all happened so fast and i even imagined myself dancing with him days before going to his concert to this exact song! When he started playing this song my girls pushed me towards the stage so i was right up at the front so he could see me dancing...all of a sudden he was right in front of me and then he took my hand and pulled me onto the stage!

My heart was beating so fast and my friends in the front could see my legs shaking but i tried to keep my cool to represent my SVS girls the best i could! i was lucky to find this clip recorded by someone that was there that i don't even know but was able to get a good chunk of it: