The potent smell of marijuana flooded my nostrils as I stepped into the venue SOB, changed from Irving Plaza just a few short days before the show. The venue was small, much more restaurant and bar than concert venue. Judging by the amount of fans that came out, I am going to guess it was moved because the limited turn out. The moderately sized crowd filled out SOB nicely but it would have left Irving Plaza half empty.
The opening act Kevin Gates was spectacularly underwhelming. I will try to put aside the genre of music (gangster rap) as this is a review of the performance, not his songs or lyrical quality (trust me, that would be a scathing review). One of the major problems I had with Gates was that he lip sang a few of his songs. Unless you are a pop singer who has to execute intricate and practiced choreography, it is unacceptable to lip sing live. Trust me when I say that Gates didn’t have any choreography, as he sluggishly lugged his body from one end of the stage to the other end only mere feet away. Another major problem is that he and his “crew” took themselves way too seriously. Unsmiling and wearing a look that was an amalgam of disgust and annoyance peppered with just a hint of “I’m too good to be here”, Gates and his group were not the most pleasant performers I have ever seen to say the least. When you take yourself so seriously to the point that you act like you are the second coming of Jesus Christ, you don’t seem “hard”, you come off as comical and a joke. Overall his performance was one of the worst I have ever experienced.
A moderately energized B.o.B leapt on the stage. He had a good flow with the audience, high fiving fans in the front and taking selfies with audience members’ cell phones while performing. His performance was fine, not bad but nothing to write home about either. The most interaction he had with the crowd is when brought two girls from the crowd and had them twerk for money. The one who received the most applause from the crowd was given $100. So yeah… that happened. I am not a fan of such blatant objectification of women, and do not take pleasure in seeing unsuspecting girls shake their butts for money. I just find it all too sleazy. But I get it, that is just a part of the gangster rap music culture, so I won’t criticize him too much for that. The show ended with B.o.B and his crew singing together on the stage, which was fun to see everyone taking part in the last song together. However, though this may have been my favorite moment of the night the good vibes were short-lived. Even though the show never really had many high points, it was some how able to end on a low note. The set lasted about an hour and as B.o.b left the stage I waited for the encore. After roughly 12 minutes, I realized there was not going to be an encore. The lights had come on, the dj was packing what little was left with his equipment, and the crowd began to disperse. I have been to over 65+ concerts in my lifetime(this includes rap concerts), and never has an artist not performed an encore. It was a very apropos ending to the evening, disappointing and deflating. Overall it was a very underwhelming concert, with performers who were mediocre at their best moments.
Favorite Moment of the Night: B.o.B with is crew of six or so people crowded on the small stage of SOB, dancing and enjoying the last song together.
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