I had to miss Ambar Lucid’s first appearance in Chicago back in July, when she brought the Estrella tour to Lincoln Hall. Fortunately, it was a successful tour that spawned a sequel. Last night I was in the crowd for the final show of Estrella pt 2. The show featured two great openers (Ethan Uno, joined by DJ Daily Double, and MJ Nebreda) that got the audience plenty warm despite the venue’s chilly interior.
Lucid cranked it up a notch, running out to start her show with a banger from last Fall, “444.” Along with music director Melody at the keyboard, she took her fans on a journey through her career so far, making sure to humbly extend gratitude in between songs. Other than a couple people behind me who couldn’t be bothered, everyone was giving Ambar their undivided attention and being rewarded with a fantastic performance.
Despite being tired and insecure about messy hair, her voice sounded amazing as it washed over everyone staring up at her. She was all over the stage, playing to people recording, accepting gifts people had brought to thank her for sharing her gift, and keeping the show moving at a brisk pace. When she finally slowed down to play “Frio,” a new bolero that hasn’t been released, you could hear a pin drop everyone was so enraptured.
After spending most of the show on her feet, Lucid finally took a seat to strum the guitar on “Eyes,” providing a moment for everyone to catch their breath and also enjoy a sparse version of the 2018 ballad.
With that out of the way it was a race to the end of the show. Lucid joined the crowd in a beautiful nod to her community of fans on “Universe.” Then the latest single “Donde Se Fue El Sol” featuring a dance break and an electrical surge that stopped the show cold.
To end the show there was a sing-a-long of “Fantasmas” and an encore with crowd favorite “A Letter To My Younger Self.” Many tears were streaming from the eyes of her grateful fans. A perfect ending to a wonderful night of music.
