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Anita Baker concert in Newark starts 2 hours late, a total letdown; Babyface says he was asked not to perform


Hey ya'll!! It's been awhile since I've posted on here. But I need to talk about this Anita Baker concert that took place on Wednesday night.

Note to self: never attend another one of her concerts, ever.

So my mom and I attended the Anita Baker concert in Newark, New Jersey on Wednesday. I bought the tix back in January to surprise her for Mother's Day.

The concert started over two hours late, there were technical difficulties, and Babyface did not perform as he was scheduled to.


Let me break this hot mess down:

Doors opened at 6 p.m. and the concert was supposed to kick off at 7 p.m.

Everyone waited for OVER TWO hours, but not in our seats. Everyone waited in the lobby... mostly everyone was standing up! Isn't this a fire hazard? Luckily nothing crazy happened with all the crowds standing around and waiting. Lines for food and drinks were super long. I waited for specialty drinks for about 20 minutes in line. When my mom and I finally got to the front, I overheard the guy infront of me tell the bartender: looks like ya'll need some help. The bartender said they were understaffed.

Specialty drinks had names of Anita Baker songs.
The Caught up in the Rapture drink was delicious.

Once the concert that was supposed to start at 7 p.m. finally kicked off around 9:30, then the technical difficulties followed. Anita's voice was good overall but there was screeching sounds in the mic at times and her video wall had tech issues as well.

By the time the concert finally started, my energy was already sucked dry from having to wait so long. I was highly annoyed but still trying to make the best of things since it's a Mother's Day treat for my mom.
We wanted to leave and get drinks from a restaurant to kill the time while waiting, but we were told if we leave, we won't be able to come back in.

Babyface posted a statement to his social media pages saying he was asked not to perform.
I asked security what was going on with the wait and they seemed just as confused and lost as the rest of us. One woman that works at Prudential Center said all she knows is that Anita was there. 

So, was Babyface running late? Did technical difficulties cut into him performing? Who knows. I heard his performance was supposed to be an hour long. But, the show started over two hours late. While we waited in the lobby, we could hear the band inside doing mic checks as the show was supposed to be starting. 

I'm not really sure what went down with Babyface, but the crowd booed when we were told the news that he wouldn't be performing anymore. 

Towards the end of the concert, many people started leaving as they thought Anita was wrapping up. But she did an encore with three additional songs and ended the concert with one of her top songs "Angel." This is my favorite song of hers. So I tried to enjoy myself while she sang this last song.


Overall the concert was just so-so with all the problems. I wish I didn't buy the tickets and I personally wouldn't pay to see her in concert again.

So now I'm looking to get a refund for all the inconvenience we had to go through.

Prudential Center, Ticketmaster, Live Nation, Anita Baker, Babyface ... I'm not sure who is to blame for the hot mess of a night, but I'm pointing a finger at all parties involved. The way things were handled were very unprofessional and unfortunately, the fans had to suffer because of it. 

My mom still enjoyed her night and had a really good time. So that's all that matters. 



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