Jhené Aiko Headlines Power-Packed, All-Female Lineup at the Avalon

Phoebe Solomon

It was ladies’ night at the Avalon Hollywood when the Red Bull 30 Days in LA series made a stop there on Nov. 21; the hall was crowded with fans loyal to the power-packed all-female lineup of Swedish singer Cherrie, Chicago native Eryn Allen Kane and headliner Jhené Aiko.

Aiko decorated the stage with a living room set complete with couches, pillows, crystals, candles, incense, and a posse of friends. “I just wanted to stay in my living room all night, so I decided to bring it here,” said a slightly under-the-weather Aiko. Her performance was sleepy and entrancing, a logical extension of the sound of her albums. In these days of electropop keyboards and drum machines, her stage was packed with more traditional instruments, including an acoustic bass, brass instruments, concert piano, cello, several guitars, drum set, and a harp.

The singer gave the fans a dose of her silky, soulful music. Rapper Big Sean made an appearance early in her set, much to the audience’s delight. She performed songs from both of her albums “Sail Out” and “Souled Out,” as well as her new racy single, “Maniac.” Aiko seemed to float around the stage, bantering with friends in between songs, at one point saying to two of them “you guys don’t have sex on stage…” Although she later gave them permission to do so, they chose not to. To close the night, Chris Brown came to the stage and the crowd erupted into a frenzy. Jhené Aiko gave the fans a dose of her silky, soulful music.

Cherrie opened the night with a smooth sound. She connected with the audience through her songs of social just, love and heartbreak. Her sound system – a DJ behind a Macbook computer – got off to a bumpy start, but the glitch was soon fixed and her set continued apace.

Eryn Allen Kane followed Cherrie and rocked the hall with her powerful voice. She closed her set with a cover of Otis Day and the Knights’ famous “Shout,” which had the audience dancing and singing along.

Jhene Aiko brought her sultry sound to the Avalon on Nov. 21.