Wonder, Shamir shine at Life is Beautiful — Day One

The third installment of Life Is Beautiful got going with an absolute bang on Friday night, with a flurry of great performers throughout the afternoon and into the evening that all culminated with an utterly sublime performance from Stevie Wonder on the main Downtown Stage.

While, without question, the musical mastermind stole the show, offering up the most magical moments of the evening, there were plenty of other captivating performances.

Here’s a rundown of the most memorable moments from Day One.

The most memorable moments of the evening belonged to Shamir, aka Shamir Bailey, a North Las Vegas native known better by his mononymous stage name. The slender singer, appearing in a Baywatch T-shirt, made the most of his homecoming gig with a rousing set that had the crowd bouncing up and down with him, matching his boundless energy.

In the past year, Shamir has attracted a great deal of acclaim for his distinctive voice. The 20-year-old’s star has risen quickly. A mere handful of years ago, he was still just a precocious teen who had crafted a collection of tunes that were compelling enough to convince the New York label he shipped them off to to get behind “Northtown,” his first EP. That led to a deal with the eminent British imprint XL Recordings (Adele, Tyler. The Creator, the xx, M.I.A.), who issued his “Ratchet,” his auspicious full-length debut this past spring.

Since amassing all his accolades, Shamir reportedly hadn’t played in Las Vegas yet, and so his predusk performance at Life Is Beautiful on Friday night at the Ambassador stage served as his hometown debut. This was reflected in his inexhaustible exuberance and his effusive banter, particularly at the beginning of his set. After acknowledging that he was indeed born and raised here  in Las Vegas, he pointed out how many familiar faces he recognized in the crowd, before zeroing in on someone in particular, who he playfully taunted her with a profane jab.

Backed by a three-piece band — the sparse configuration was sans guitar or bass and consisted merely of a keyboardist, drummer and backing vocalist — Shamir shined brightly throughout the set, his helium-pitched croon propelling his propulsive brand of pop, a premium blend of deep ‘70s era funk and disco house, at times evoking a young Phillip Bailey sitting in with Cameo. While Huntridge is the smallest of the four Life Is Beautiful stages, Shamir had a respectable turnout, drawing enough fans to pack a place about the size of the Brooklyn Bowl.

Directly prior to Shamir’s performance on the Huntridge Stage, Big Talk, another act with strong local ties, returned to East Fremont, where it wowed fans earlier this past summer at the now-closed Bunkhouse.

Less than a week ago, Ronnie Vannuci was sitting behind the drums keeping time for his main band, the Killers, in front of a much larger crowd at the MGM Garden Arena on the opening night of the iHeartRadio Music Festival. 

On Friday night, he was out from behind the kit with a guitar in his hand, leading his outfit through a sturdy set of guitar-driven rock, showcasing his own melodic sensibilities and proving that he can hold his own as a frontman. Ironically, with the exception of Vannuci imploring the side stage engineer to give him more drums (also ironic, come to think of it), there wasn’t much banter in Big Talk’s set, as Vannuci and company opted to let the music do the bidding. Well, except as they were leaving the stage at the end of the set. “We’re from… We’re Big Talk from Bangladesh,” he uttered with a laugh.

Other notable performances of the evening featured AWOLNATION, who had the crowd rapt with its relentless alt-rock on the Downtown Stage earlier in the evening, followed a little bit later by Hozier, who wins the award for carrying on with the coolest instrument of the evening, a custom guitar crafted to look (or maybe it actually is) a gas can.

Although he certainly went over well last weekend when he appeared at the iHeartRadio Music Festival, the “Take Me to Church” maestro received a much more enthusiastic response to his blues-inflected pop, particularly when he regaled the throng with his resonant radio ringer, which he of course saved for last.

Elsewhere, the violin-wielding wonder known as Lindsey Stirling turned in an exceptional set on the Ambassador Stage, across from Atomic Liquors, entertaining a massive and appreciative audience with unexpected choreography and her prodigious playing style. Atmosphere followed with a dependably entertaining set in which, amusingly, nodding to the name of the very festival he was performing at, Slug urged the Beautiful People in the crowd to be quiet during “God Loves Ugly.” Turns out, we're all ugly, apparently.

The night ended on the highest of high notes with Stevie Wonder holding court on the Downtown Stage. Behind him in bold letters and hovering overhead on the peak of the stage, the festival’s logo burned brightly, reinforcing a sentiment likely shared by everybody within earshot of the idol-worthy icon’s mesmerizing vocals.

Serving up stirring rendition after stirring rendition, pulled the most prized parts of his catalog, Wonder more than lived up to his name, leaving literally almost nothing untouched from his heritage of hits.

Sounding every bit as excellent live as he is on record, Wonder satisfied with sensational renderings of “My Cherie Amour,” “Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours,” “I Wish,” “You Are the Sunshine of My Life,” as well as “Do I Do” and “Superstitious,” which were presented as extended jams.

And while Wonder would be wondrous with or without the accompaniment of other musicians, it most definitely didn’t hurt that he was backed by a band of brilliant players, including a set of five backing vocalist, who matched Wonder note for note as he playfully interacted with each individual showcasing their skilled serenading ability.

The same prowess abounded with the other players, a rhythm section that performed with absolute precision, anchoring a pair of keyboard players, percussionists and a hellacious horn section. When the last notes rang out, there was a tangible sense of sheer joy in the faces of the folks making their way back onto Fremont Street. At that moment at least, life truly seemed beautiful.

 Read more from Dave Herrera at reviewjournal.com. Contact him at dherrera@reviewjournal.com.