MICHAEL BLUME & LAWRENCE PACK BROOKLYN STEEL

Friday night, I entered Brooklyn Steel to a room of Lawrence fans pressed up against the doors so tightly that when I opened one, someone almost fell on top of me. Lawrence’s Breakfast has been playing on constant rotation through my headphones ever since I saw them perform last year, at almost the exact same time, at the Music Hall of Williamsburg. It was hardly a surprise that Lawrence brought the crowd that night, as they played one of their biggest shows ever on the second night of “The New Stuff Tour.”

Along for the ride was R&B/soul/dancing queen, Michael Blume. He has the soulful vocal stylings of Aretha Franklin and the queen bee swagger of Beyonce. As Michael continuously bounced around the stage, he created his own style of dance combining the aspects of ballet port de bras and krumping. At one point he was going so hard his gold embellished choker flew off his neck onto the stage becoming entangled in the wires.

Michael Blume

If his song “R U Mad” is any indication, his upcoming EP CYNICISM AND SINCERITY (out June 8) is going to live up to its name. It’s a straightforward and powerful message showing society that he can care less what anyone thinks of him. While his set was filled with newer music, he also played a song, that he says, is a very special song for him, “Manufactured Love,” going back in time to the first song he ever put out onto the Internet.

Michael Blume

When Lawrence took the stage that night, the room erupted with cheers, friends held onto each other while jumping up and down and the space just felt a little warmer as everyone’s smiles lit up the room brighter than the lights could. As Clyde Lawrence created magic with his keyboard, his face contorted into the stankiest of stank faces. To his left, Gracie Lawrence coiled up the cord from the microphone in one hand and grasped the neck of it in the other, strangling it as she sings, “Hey, you, what is your deal? I thought you were for real” from their not-yet-released song, “Limbo.”

Lawrence

They started off with the “new stuff” right away, opening their set with high energy “Limbo.” More than half of their set consisted of songs off their upcoming sophomore album Living Room (out September 14) including “Probably Up” – which they dedicated to “anyone with a weird sleeping schedule;” “Make a Move” – a song about being unsure if it’s ladylike or not to make the first move (spoiler: it is!); and “Try” – their newest slow jam full of the pain of struggling through a relationship.

Lawrence

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Lawrence

Hits from Breakfast were also played throughout the night like “Superficial,” “Shot,” and “Do You Wanna Do Nothing with Me?” They ended their set with an encore of three covers that they performed, dare I say, better than the originals. Gracie’s growl in her voice matched that of Christina Aguilera’s when she sang “Beautiful” and “Come on over Baby,” and “Hot in Herre,” by Nelly became a funky masterpiece.

Lawrence

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As I scrolled through Lawrence’s Twitter a day later, I came across a post they wrote that said,” Wow Brooklyn Steel was the theme of that show ‘a night to remember’ because we won’t forget that any time soon.” And neither will anyone else there that night.