T is really into rap music and he has been exposing me to rap more than I would probably have explored it on my own. One of the artists that T really likes is Drake. I have listened to most of Drake's songs through T's influence; on our way to Idaho for the family reunion in June, we listened to all of Drake's CDs.
It was a no-brainer to get tickets to the Drake vs Lil Wayne show when we found out it was coming here. I did offer to let T take a friend instead of me, but I'm really glad I got to go!
The show was held at probably my favorite venue here in the city, the USANA Amphitheater. I really enjoy listening to live music outdoors. That being said, I will tell you that it was quite chilly last night. I was wearing layers of clothing and I was still chilled through. When I got home after the show, I had a tough time getting warm.
There was an opening act, G-Eazy. He is a white guy from the Bay Area. He told us those two facts probably ten times in the 20 minute set. He was all right, but I won't be rushing out to get his CD.
When G-Eazy's performance was done, we waited. And waited. The wind picked up a little and we waited and waited. It was interesting to watch the people, especially the women. Some were dressed quite scantily and they seemed to hang out in groups. Lots and lots of women. Drake is pretty cute.
Finally, the lights went down at 9:37 and Lil Wayne came out. I don't know much about Lil Wayne or his music. I mostly know him from features that he does on other artist's songs. Lil Wayne has a very distinctive voice and look. He also has a great stage presence and a lot of energy. He was bouncing all over the place and rapping his face off without missing a word. He is fit. He is lean and cut. And yes, he's lil.
I found this photo online. It's not from our show, but it shows his energy, lean body and ripped arms. I liked the beats of his songs. I loved the sing-along (rap-along) aspect of his performance. I especially liked that after every song he would politely say, "Thank you" and he would often skip off the stage. He was taking good-natured jabs at Drake and he was funny. I was pleasantly surprised by Lil Wayne. I will home-share some of his music from T's library. Lil Wayne's music is NSFO - not suitable for the office. I can play it loud in my car, though.
Weezy (that's one of Lil Wayne's nicknames, you know) took turns with Drake, so Lil Wayne would leave the stage and Drake would come out. He was wonderful. I really enjoyed all of his performances. He's also very energetic and the giant crowd was going crazy over his hits. I would sometimes look at the audience with their hands up in the air and jumping or bouncing. It was damn cool to see. Drake would stand on the stage and direct the crowd to rap along or take over and it was joyfully done.
Again, this photo isn't from our show, but he did this move a lot.
Another fun thing that Drake did was ride a platform with a pole out over the crowd. It's kind of hard to explain, but it was really cool. It was on a zip-line type thing and he just stood on the platform, holding onto the pole and commented on what he was seeing, which was all the people losing their minds as he did his thing.
Drake and Lil Wayne traded time on the stage until they both were on together. They did a section where they just did their features from various songs. Drake called Lil Wayne "The King of Features". He does do a lot of them. So does Drake. I liked that part of the show.
Drake is on Lil Wayne's record label or something. Weezy is Drake's mentor and they seem to have a good relationship. It looked like they were having fun and I know that I was and so was T. He often had a big smile on his face as he was rapping and bouncing along. That's my favorite thing, you know.
The show lasted until about 11:45. I was cold and a bit tired but happy. Getting out of the parking lot there at USANA is the worst part of any show there, in my opinion. There were thousands of people at the show, and of course we are all trying to leave at the same time. There were lots of people who had been drinking and toking, too, so tempers were high as we all tried to squeeze out of the gates in the parking lot. At work, my friends were asking if I had heard the gunshots and seen the road rage. I just read about it in the Salt Lake Tribune online. There was a car behind us that was honking a lot and we were passed at high speed on our way down the hill, but I didn't see what kind of car it was. People can get kind of crazy and the audience at this show was the polar opposite from the Eagles show last week!
Fortunately, we got home safely and had a good experience. I thought it was lots of fun and I even got a t-shirt. It just says KNOW YOURSELF which is a line from Drake's 0 to 100 song. I like these words and the next words in the line (slightly abbreviated) KNOW YOUR WORTH.
I think my next concert experience isn't until November when I get to see The Black Keys!
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