Murs in Baltimore

Murs in in Baltimore on Nov. 2?

Awesome!

Review: Lupe Fiasco @ Loyola (10/11/08)

The Lupe Fiasco concert at Loyola College was last night.

It was my first hip-hop concert, and I didn't know exactly what to expect. Like a lot of hip-hop performers, Lupe has guest vocalists and samples in his songs, and I wasn't sure how that was going to be replicated on stage. I also didn't much know what the crowd was going to be like. I stupidly put my plans to go on facebook, so many of my students, current and former, knew I was going, so much so that I got a call in the afternoon asking if I needed extra seats. I went, hoping I wouldn't run into any of them. Can you imagine if I got caught dancing? Ugh.

I ended up seeing a few students, but don't think I was seen, which is good. But, really, I barely thought about it. See, Lupe pretty much had me in the palm of his hand throughout the night. The kid slayed me. What a performer. Jumping and dancing all around the stage, pouring 110% into every song, often shouting his lyrics - it was transcendent.

Songs that I think are kind of silly on CD - like "Go Go Gadget Flow" - took on a new life onstage; that song turned into an epic ode to the midwest and to, um, flow. My favorite song of his, "Daydreamin'", was introduced with a pithy political speech punctuated by the repeated call for the audience, and the world, to "Wake... the fuck... up" and the performance thereafter was extremely moving, with the lyrics shouted through the roar of Jill Scott's pre-recorded vocals and the lead electric guitarist, who had a pretty damn good voice himself. Other highlights included "Hip Hop Saved My Life," which sent shivers up my spine, and his hit "Superstar," which he started with with a seemingly improvised repeated beat and mantra "I love you. Because you are who you say you are" that went on for about two minutes before the band got into the hook.

And, wow, what a band. I sort of expected just a DJ and maybe a couple of instruments, but the band was 8-strong (2 sets of keyboards, a terrific drummer, an electic guitarist, a bassist, a turntablist/DJ, a backup rapper, and Lupe) and, well, really rocked. They all had so much energy, and Lupe himself was one of the best performers I've ever seen. He's right up there with Melissa Ferrick and Bruce Springsteen in stage energy, guiding and leading the audience (which, by the way, was lame) into his world of amazing lyricism and musicianship.

Now, to the audience: much pastier than I thought it would be, and full of Loyola college students who spent a lot of time talking on their cell phones on the floor. Apparently it was the fastest sellout in the history of Loyola concerts, but many apparently didn't know Lupe's music. It would be nice to see him in a venue where everyone loves his music like I do, or like a good portion of the crowd did, without being distracted by distracted college kids.

Most disappointing was the lack of an encore. The band stopped playing, and the crowd starting leaving. There were a few light attempts at chanting "Lupe! Lupe!", but the venue turned on the lights, and the show was done. It was a bummer, because if any show deserved and longed for an encore, it was this one. This is a kid with two albums, and I could list about five songs I didn't hear that I really wanted to (most notably "The Cool," "He Say, She Say," and "Little Weapon."

Still, damn, what a show. I'll remember this one forever. Let's hope he decides to keep performing after his long-announced "3 albums and I'm done" (which he repeated last night) goal.

Here's a little review of the show from a blog that Lupe himself talked about onstage.

And here's a video of Lupe performing "Superstar" a few nights before last night. I'm not sure if we'll get videos from this show; they were pretty strict on recording equipment:

If you put me in a box, make sure it's a big box, with a door and windows, and a chimney, so we can burn, burn, burn everything we don't like

I guess that would be a cool name for a blog, too.

I'm having a hard time.

I loved "Epiphany in Baltimore." One of my favorite albums of all time (by Brenda Kahn), plus lots of extra meaning for myself here in Baltimore.

But I turned the page and abandoned the old one. Now for this piddly little personal blog, I don't know.

I'm still racking my brain for literary characters (Milkman Dead, Charlie Brown), lines from songs ("Michigan seems like a dream to me now," "Time will do the talking") and something else to inspire me.

I know the world is waiting. I'll get on it soon. Until then, change it every few days until I decide.

Lupe Fiasco @ Loyola

Guess who just scored two tickets to Saturday's Lupe Fiasco concert at Loyola?

Yup, me!

I've never been to a rap/hip-hop concert before, though, and my friend I was hoping would attend with me will be out of town. My option now appears to be the whitest guy that I know who will probably make fun of me for enjoying myself so much. Hmmmm. Dilemma.

I'm going to have fun either way, though. This is my current favorite song of his:



"You know the world is out to get me, so why don't you give me a chance?"

Love Lockdown

When Kanye West's mother died last year, the selfish fan part of me wondered what it might do for his music. West had just released the most disappointing album of his career - the erratic, lyrically dull "Graduation" - and I was wondering if celebrity had made him soft and less hungry.

Well, wow, I just heard his new single, and it's throttled me more than any song of his since "Jesus Walks." The drums give me shivers up my spine. The lyrics are simple but wrenching. The hook kills. Wow, am I ever excited about his album, whenever that comes out.

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Nelly's Echo

About four weeks ago, at my last weekend of shifts working at the second job, it was dead so I took a walk. I walked by The Waterfront Hotel, and heard a rock band covering "Movin' On Up," the theme song to The Jeffersons. I stopped in, and saw one of the most unusual bands I've ever seen - a black male lead singer and guitarist, a white blonde woman on bass, and a white guy on drums. Their sound was also not the usual bar band sound; it had a soulfulness to it that probably came mostly from the lead singer's throaty vocals.

I was wearing waiter garb, in all black, and was standing my the door, nearly enthralled. The band was apparently finishing up their set, and the lead singer turned around to me, and, thinking that I was the door man, asked if they had time for more. I nodded "yes," and they played a couple more. It was really good, and I ended up buying their CD on the spot.

I'm heading down to see the band - called Nelly's Echo - tonight, to see how they sound in a full set. I'm really excited.

Ever since quitting the restaurant, I have way more free time than I ever could have imagined. I also am realizing that I don't have much of a social life these days other than Friday night happy hours. Especially now that softball seasons are over. So, I've got to make one for myself.