By TOMMY MCDONALD
Touring and performing his latest mixtape, Crew Cuts, rapper Hoodie Allen made a sold-out stop on the final leg of his Cruisin’ USA tour at The Social.
After fans entered into the meet and greet line, Hoodie took pictures with everyone in line and signed autographs. The free meet and greet was a great way to start the night and showed how Hoodie appreciates his fans by not charging for something virtually all other artist do.
Although a close spot to the stage added to the experience, The Social offered a tight but up-close and personal venue despite the small stage that slightly interfered with the performance.
Opening acts Jared Evan and Aer warmed up the high energy crowd. Evan gave a decent performance and impressed fans with his singing while Aer rocked the stage performing their reggae-rap hits. During the reasonable wait between the opening acts and Hoodie, Hoodie tweeted at fans furthering the bond felt during the show.
Hoodie took the stage with high energy fueled by the wild, high school filled audience. The drug use was surprisingly low for a rap concert, which was refreshing to see fans have a good time without being high or wasted. Colorful lights added to the performance and made the show feel like one big party. The concert had a mixture of songs from his old mixtapes, All American EP and Crew Cuts, although the majority were newer songs due to the recent success and popularity. He blended popular songs like “All of the Lights” by Kanye West and “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift into his set to build up the already turned up audience, and because a large portion of his fans only have knowledge of his recent projects.
Having a pianist, guitarist and drummer who played with a broken leg added to live feeling of the concert. Hoodie Allen looked out of breath occasionally while rapping, but generally carried a comfortable yet outgoing stage presence while looking like he was having as good of a time as everyone in the audience.
Other highlights of the night included helpers throwing cakes into the audience during one of his recent singles, “Cake Boy”, a dance off between audience members on stage, Hoodie crowd surfing, and a remix of the song “Hard in da Paint” that finished the show with a bang.
Overall, Hoodie’s catchy songs, personable interactions and the incredible energy of the audience made the concert a superb show and a night to remember.
The 411
Concert: Hoodie Allen with opening acts Aer and Jared Evan
Date: 04/06/2013
Cost: $20 for general admission (meet and greet free)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars