On Tuesday, April 13th I went to the 930 Club to see Bob and Lupe Fiasco for their DC stop on the Steppin Laser Tour. A little background: I came back to DC on I think February 23rd, and on the 24th I went to the box office to get my ticket. Nothing was gonna stop me from seeing this show (including my long awaited employment starting 2 weeks earlier than I had expected ha).Needless to say my excitement had built up quite a bit come the 13th. Lupe and BoB are probably my two favorite artists right now, and I missed an opportunity to see BoB last summer when he was in DC. So I was really looking forward to the show.
BoB didn't disappoint:
He didn't come out to that song (that would be Haterz Everywhere ha), but that's when things really got started - in my mind. After hearing Satellite, I came to a few realizations. One, I need to see him at an outdoor music festival. I can't explain why exactly, it just feels like it would make more sense. Two - more importantly and a tiny bit upsetting (but as expected) - people weren't really getting in to his music as much as his talent should command, especially the truly good music. Again I think the mood would be different, and more fitting, at an outdoor venue, but still; Nothin On You is a decent song, but far from his best. But he doesn't even have an album out yet (April 27th), so we'll see where he's at a year from now. Overall, great performance, all things considered.
He interacted with the crowd well and came out for an encore. I actually don't think this was it ha, but whatever. This probably IS his best song, sorry it's cut off (more on that later):
After a short wait and an overpriced drink, Lupe hit the stage:
Again, apologies short video (of Shining Down)...again more on that later.
In short, Lupe killed it. Truly an awe-inspiring performance. If you don't do your shows with a live band you better have a damn good reason. I'm sure it would've been a great show otherwise, but there's no way people would've been as captivated as they were. I've seen quite a few shows at the 930 Club at this point - including one featuring hometown favorites Tabi Bonney and Wale w/ UCB, exceptional in its own right - and nothing comes close to Lupe's show. He has a presence that's too infectious for Hellen Keller to ignore.
What really left a lasting impressing, however, was that he had a sold out crowd singing his songs with him, word for word. I feel like 90% of his material goes over these people's heads, but the fact that lyricism like that is so widely recognized - in whatever capacity - is refreshing to say the least. I'm definitely looking forward to the next Lupe show...which WILL happen.
Couple things that concerned me a bit. First, I heard about someone who waited after the show, to get a CD signed for his sister. After a little bit he was told "Lupe ain't signing autographs." I get he's busy, tired, whatever... but what happened to "everybody gets a nice autograph picture / one for you and one for your sister," huh? I dunno, just got me thinking.
Second, as I lightly alluded to earlier, video wasn't allowed at the show. Maybe that's common, but I've never had a problem before, and I was told I was gonna get ejected from the building three times that I remember. They said it was at the artists request... going by both of their histories, I'm sure that's not BoB's m.o., tho it does sound like it could be Lupe. No coincidence that they're both signed to Atlantic Records, though...
P.S. A couple weeks prior I saw Wiz Khalifa at 930, which was exceptional - though no live band ha - and I was allowed to freely take video. A little bonus ha:
Wiz Khalifa is one of the most inspirational stories in music right now. After leaving his deal with Warner Bros. his popularity erupted, thanks a massive self-promotion campaign - primarily on his Twitter page and his exhaustive Deal Or No Deal tour schedule. No doubt he has received the guidance of fellow major-label-jumper Curren$y, who left Lil Wayne's Young Money label over two years ago. Together they represent what is hopefully a new age in music...
