Fans finally get their Lil’ Wayne show
When Lil’ Wayne canceled two shows in Canada last week, citing illness, you had to either laugh or hold your breath while walking into Darien Lake Performing Arts Center on Thursday.
What were the odds we’d even see the guy? The long-running joke here in Rochester began when Lil’ Wayne did not show up for an October performance at the Blue Cross Arena, claiming the sound system was not satisfactory (he was also a no-show the following night at a Boston concert). The event was re-scheduled for Dec. 6, but canceled again.
A third show was booked for Jan. 21, but two days before that date, he canceled the show due to “band logistics.” Allegedly, Lil’ Wayne and his band could not make it to Rochester and also do a show the following night in Calgary, Canada.
The local promoter of those three shows subsequently filed a $1.3 million lawsuit. But Live Nation, which put on Thursday’s show, can save their lawyers for the next crisis.
“OK, I’m here!” Lil’ Wayne yelled as the backstage Weezycam broadcast his arrival on a giant video screen.
“Weezy,” as he’s known, showed off some smooth, sliding footwork as he introduced himself via “Milli,” his salute to life as a young rapping millionaire.
Currently rap’s biggest star, Lil’ Wayne has loads of charisma, connecting quickly with the audience by simply slipping off his sunglasses (they quickly went back on). His nasal rap is distinctive, and he has a flair for theatrics, and even a little cabaret.
So Weezy was in the house, but if you went by the announced time of 7 p.m., which was also the time printed on your ticket, you missed the first two acts, Jeremih and Pleasure P, who were onstage and gone by then.
By the middle of the fourth act, Young Jeezy, there still appeared to be 1,000 people trying to get through the pat-downs at the gate. The show had 14,500 sales in advance, and the walk-up sales appeared to make the numbers even bigger.
Like Al Pacino’s Scarface character, a mentor to the rap world, Young Jeezy’s characters deal in drugs. That includes the cocaine dealer of “Soul Survivor,” which the crowd sang along to: “Pants saggin’ with my gun in my drawers, just to keep on movin’ now.” He’s good but deals in cliché, a one-idea rapper whose 30 minutes were plenty.
Soulja Boy, Pleasure P and Jeremih paled in comparison. While Lil’ Wayne and Young Jeezy had real bands, the three lead-in acts rapped to backing tracks. They got the young and easily excitable crowd going, but there wasn’t anyplace interesting to go; is it too much of an urban-music cliché when Soulja Boy’s deejay used his turntables to imitate gunfire?
Jeremih, a 22-year-old rapper from Chicago’s South Side, was barely onstage for 10 minutes. Earlier this month, he became the amusing center of a controversy after he was named to help with a back-to-school promotion in his hometown.
Critics noted that a guy with a hit like “Birthday Sex” was probably not an appropriate message for kids, but that’s a promise that’ll probably set some attendance records at the Chicago public schools.
