Let me preface this by saying that I don't think this concert was the right introduction for Kendrick to Seattle.
On the one hand, he performed on the main stage before Big Boi at the biggest summer festival in Seattle. On the other hand, it was on Labor Day, at 1:45pm on a hot scorching day, and didn't manage to draw more than 200-300 people. It was probably less than 100 people when he started performing. A lot of people trickled in, mainly because they wanted to get close to the stage for Big Boi's show. Now, that's not a small amount of people. But he was performing in Key Arena that can fit more than 16,000 people for a concert.
The worst thing about it is that I don't feel more than 20 people knew he was and less of them knew any of the songs and lyrics. That's a problem because Kendrick's shows require you to know the material in a way. That will make sense later.
His set (45 minutes) list was similar to that of his SOBs concert in NY the other night. He opened up with The Heart Pt 2 then continued with Fuck Your Ethnicity, Hol' Up, Compton's Most Wanted, P&P, She Needs Me, Ignorance is Bliss, ADHD, Tammy's Song, Alien Girl, Look Out for Detox, The Spiteful Chant, Michael Jordan, HiiPower, and closed with his I Am Interlude. None of the songs were performed in full, not unlike most other rap shows I've been to.
The crowd was mostly teeny boppers (14-20) who came to see other artists perform that day. He made a joke of the young crowd in a way by asking everyone who's 21 to go have a beer with him at the end of the show lol. Even though there were people my age, I felt like I was the oldest dude there, at least in my area. Kendrick performs songs in a way that require crowd participation. He wants you to participate in his choruses. When he started off with Fuck Your Ethnicity, and let the crowd do the "Fuck Your Ethnicity" part, only like two people shouted anything out. I wasn't one of them because I was rollin' solo and sober at that. Also, it was 1:45pm in the afternoon. I woke up two hours prior. Anyway, that was awkward and made me cringe but he made the best of it by saying that he likes that it's a small crowd cause "we can get intimate". He was patient in teaching the crowd what to shout back, which I think should not happen. Fans should fucking know. When he performed P&P and The Spiteful Chant, he basically forced the crowd to shout out "Pussy and Patron" and "I'm going big, suck my dick" time and time again with the music stopped. I didn't participate because I felt uncomfortable around 16 year old girls saying that for some reason. I don't know, but it makes sense, right? They were right next to me. There was some comic relief because the 16 year old girls were shouting back "SUCK MY DICK!". I was LOL'ing.
Before he went into ADHD, he did this sketch where he told us about how his parents raised him. He'd imitate his mom, his dad, and then himself when he was 6 years old. It was pretty funny and a great way of using the intimate setting to tell his background. He was basically saying how he grew up in a household that partied, listened to music, and smoked weed and drank. That's what he was exposed to as a young kid. His parents listened to oldies and gangsta rap so he says those are his two influences in a way. When he said he'd be 6 years old and hear rap, the DJ played California Love at one point and then Hail Mary. Kendrick was saying he was 6 years old when he was hearing that stuff, which is simply wrong because he was born in 87. He transitioned into ADHD by saying that due to him growing up in that household, it gave him an opportunity to see what was waiting for him, and as the result...ADHD. It was a nice transition and he made it make more sense that I did right now.
When he started performing ADHD, a group of young white kids, no older than 17-18 years old, sparked a blunt right there in the front. He noticed too and chuckled at them. I thought it was the saddest display of irony. He's saying, "8 doobies to the face, FUCK THAT" not "8 doobies to the face, PLEASE DO IT" you fucking stupid idiots. Listen to the damn message. Also, he instructed the crowd to shout back the "FUCK THAT" part. But he told them "THAT" as used normally, and not "THAAT" as he says in the song. I shouted it out the right way and sounded like an idiot damn it.
Before he performed Tammy's Song, he did this little thing that he did at SOBs where he pointed out a cute girl in the front and started macking on her. He was like "Hey, what's your name, you have a boyfriend bla bla". Her name was Zoey but he told the crowd that her name is something else and was trying to get the crowd to say Tammy to transition into the song. But no one was shouting it out, or notably at least. One dude kept screaming Keyshia, which was wrong when you think about the two songs. I shouted out Tammy like a little bitch because, well, yeah, I felt awkward. Then after dedicating that song to her, he fixed it up by performing Alien Girl. The first verse, anyway. Before he performed Michael Jordan, he asked everyone to put their phones up and then asked them to tweet @ him the song they want played. Then he performed the song. A nice way to interact with fans, good touch. He performed well. He's a performer rapper, not a studio rapper. I like that. If he raps it on a song, he raps it like that in person. Hearing Look Out For Detox live was mind blowing. He just murdered that shit and laid down as if he just killed every rapper out there. With that song, he did. Just murderous flows. He only performed the first verse off of HiiPower. I was slightly disappointed cause I know every word to that song lol.
All in all, he put on a really good show given the circumstances. But because of the type of crowd that this concert festival attracts (not many rap acts relative to other genres), and because he requires that intimate crowd participation, it didn't make it as fulfilling for him or the crowd. It was a shame. Still though, I think he gained more than a few fans today and next time when he comes to Seattle (if this concert experience doesn't put him off), it's going to be much better and at a more appropriate time and venue. I hope, anyway. Even though I bought a whole day pass ($35) and came to just see him and bounced before Big Boi showed up, I don't feel like my money was wasted. I know I witnessed history (his first time in Seattle) today simply because Kendrick Lamar is the future. People will be saying top 5 dead or alive not too long from now.
Also, Schoolboy Q assisted him on their joint cuts but also on other cuts. He was solid, no complaints.
On the one hand, he performed on the main stage before Big Boi at the biggest summer festival in Seattle. On the other hand, it was on Labor Day, at 1:45pm on a hot scorching day, and didn't manage to draw more than 200-300 people. It was probably less than 100 people when he started performing. A lot of people trickled in, mainly because they wanted to get close to the stage for Big Boi's show. Now, that's not a small amount of people. But he was performing in Key Arena that can fit more than 16,000 people for a concert.
The worst thing about it is that I don't feel more than 20 people knew he was and less of them knew any of the songs and lyrics. That's a problem because Kendrick's shows require you to know the material in a way. That will make sense later.
His set (45 minutes) list was similar to that of his SOBs concert in NY the other night. He opened up with The Heart Pt 2 then continued with Fuck Your Ethnicity, Hol' Up, Compton's Most Wanted, P&P, She Needs Me, Ignorance is Bliss, ADHD, Tammy's Song, Alien Girl, Look Out for Detox, The Spiteful Chant, Michael Jordan, HiiPower, and closed with his I Am Interlude. None of the songs were performed in full, not unlike most other rap shows I've been to.
The crowd was mostly teeny boppers (14-20) who came to see other artists perform that day. He made a joke of the young crowd in a way by asking everyone who's 21 to go have a beer with him at the end of the show lol. Even though there were people my age, I felt like I was the oldest dude there, at least in my area. Kendrick performs songs in a way that require crowd participation. He wants you to participate in his choruses. When he started off with Fuck Your Ethnicity, and let the crowd do the "Fuck Your Ethnicity" part, only like two people shouted anything out. I wasn't one of them because I was rollin' solo and sober at that. Also, it was 1:45pm in the afternoon. I woke up two hours prior. Anyway, that was awkward and made me cringe but he made the best of it by saying that he likes that it's a small crowd cause "we can get intimate". He was patient in teaching the crowd what to shout back, which I think should not happen. Fans should fucking know. When he performed P&P and The Spiteful Chant, he basically forced the crowd to shout out "Pussy and Patron" and "I'm going big, suck my dick" time and time again with the music stopped. I didn't participate because I felt uncomfortable around 16 year old girls saying that for some reason. I don't know, but it makes sense, right? They were right next to me. There was some comic relief because the 16 year old girls were shouting back "SUCK MY DICK!". I was LOL'ing.
Before he went into ADHD, he did this sketch where he told us about how his parents raised him. He'd imitate his mom, his dad, and then himself when he was 6 years old. It was pretty funny and a great way of using the intimate setting to tell his background. He was basically saying how he grew up in a household that partied, listened to music, and smoked weed and drank. That's what he was exposed to as a young kid. His parents listened to oldies and gangsta rap so he says those are his two influences in a way. When he said he'd be 6 years old and hear rap, the DJ played California Love at one point and then Hail Mary. Kendrick was saying he was 6 years old when he was hearing that stuff, which is simply wrong because he was born in 87. He transitioned into ADHD by saying that due to him growing up in that household, it gave him an opportunity to see what was waiting for him, and as the result...ADHD. It was a nice transition and he made it make more sense that I did right now.
When he started performing ADHD, a group of young white kids, no older than 17-18 years old, sparked a blunt right there in the front. He noticed too and chuckled at them. I thought it was the saddest display of irony. He's saying, "8 doobies to the face, FUCK THAT" not "8 doobies to the face, PLEASE DO IT" you fucking stupid idiots. Listen to the damn message. Also, he instructed the crowd to shout back the "FUCK THAT" part. But he told them "THAT" as used normally, and not "THAAT" as he says in the song. I shouted it out the right way and sounded like an idiot damn it.
Before he performed Tammy's Song, he did this little thing that he did at SOBs where he pointed out a cute girl in the front and started macking on her. He was like "Hey, what's your name, you have a boyfriend bla bla". Her name was Zoey but he told the crowd that her name is something else and was trying to get the crowd to say Tammy to transition into the song. But no one was shouting it out, or notably at least. One dude kept screaming Keyshia, which was wrong when you think about the two songs. I shouted out Tammy like a little bitch because, well, yeah, I felt awkward. Then after dedicating that song to her, he fixed it up by performing Alien Girl. The first verse, anyway. Before he performed Michael Jordan, he asked everyone to put their phones up and then asked them to tweet @ him the song they want played. Then he performed the song. A nice way to interact with fans, good touch. He performed well. He's a performer rapper, not a studio rapper. I like that. If he raps it on a song, he raps it like that in person. Hearing Look Out For Detox live was mind blowing. He just murdered that shit and laid down as if he just killed every rapper out there. With that song, he did. Just murderous flows. He only performed the first verse off of HiiPower. I was slightly disappointed cause I know every word to that song lol.
All in all, he put on a really good show given the circumstances. But because of the type of crowd that this concert festival attracts (not many rap acts relative to other genres), and because he requires that intimate crowd participation, it didn't make it as fulfilling for him or the crowd. It was a shame. Still though, I think he gained more than a few fans today and next time when he comes to Seattle (if this concert experience doesn't put him off), it's going to be much better and at a more appropriate time and venue. I hope, anyway. Even though I bought a whole day pass ($35) and came to just see him and bounced before Big Boi showed up, I don't feel like my money was wasted. I know I witnessed history (his first time in Seattle) today simply because Kendrick Lamar is the future. People will be saying top 5 dead or alive not too long from now.
Also, Schoolboy Q assisted him on their joint cuts but also on other cuts. He was solid, no complaints.
