I had never covered a concert from San Francisco, at Cafe du Nord, and wasn’t familiar with the artist Marzz before this night. However, I entered the (literally) underground venue and immediately felt comforted by the ambience that the age-old speakeasy created to start off the San Francisco stop of Marzz’s “Love Letterz” tour. Much of the speakeasy was kept dark, leading everyone to be drawn from the bar at the entrance further towards the lit stage on the other end. The night’s openers and well-matched female R&B music played in between with a strong bass that you felt deep in your chest. Much of the space was filled with pumped family, friends, and excited Bay Area day one fans that felt like a community welcoming the R&B singer/songwriter Marzz. Everyone was buzzing to start their Friday night with the perfect vibe of comfort from the warm intimate crowd and chill live music off of another long work week. The millenial-aged audience greeted each other in hugs and took group photos underneath the stage lights with drinks in hand, ready for a low speed but fun night out with Marzz leading everyone into their weekends.
22-year-old Marzz came out to an introduction, although I’m not sure the man’s relation to her, but he told the audience how grateful he was that everyone in the room could call themselves day one fans since this is her first headlining tour. That gratitude and deep connection with everyone in the crowd continued throughout the night as Marzz kept expressing how much fun she was having and how good the energy was. I was personally hooked by her storytelling in her lyrics that paired beautifully with her equally strong singing voice and rapping. This combination reminds me of other dreamy female artists like Ms. Lauryn Hill and Ella Mai. Their voices and range of R&B talents, just like Marzz, always hold every second of my attention, like you don’t know if they’re gonna pull out the most beautiful riff you’ve ever heard or a sudden rap verse as if they’re dueting themselves.
Everyone took advantage of the speakeasy floor to dance and sway with their drinks and friends, cheering and clapping support for Marzz during her rapping and impressive riffs, and swaying or dancing silently to let her vocals shine throughout the room during her quieter melodies. In such an intimate crowd and space, I felt the connection with her audience and special energy of this performance. Just as she welcomed us on this tour stop, I felt like we welcomed her right back. Despite Cafe du Nord’s smaller capacity of 320, everyone was present and wholeheartedly there to support this star.
