Posted by kluster on February 27, 2010
The Enmore Theatre throbbed as a near capacity crowd chanted with nervous anticipation for their idol, “...Lupe, Lupe, Lupe...”, going nuts as the rapper finally arrived after a ridiculously OTT electric guitar solo. He swaggered onto stage in a navy military jacket resplendent with polished brass buttons. When the Chicago native last toured, just over 12 months ago, he brought a six-piece band and all the trimmings with him; this tour however was a slightly more low-key affair, in hip-hop terms anyway. The entourage consisted of DJ Simon Says, a guitarist, a man-mountain of a drummer (who played with two drumsticks in each hand) and what I can only assume was a bodyguard who spent most of the show wandering aimlessly around the stage and occasionally dancing clumsily with cluster of hot-pant clad, squealing groupies on stage right.
iPhones twinkled above the audience as Lupe Fiasco skipped and hopped nimbly around the stage during ‘Shining Down’ with unrivalled energy. The crowd hung on his every word, even the slightest hint of a sly smile eliciting shrieks of delight. During ‘Hip Hop Saved My Life’ Lupe raised his hands up and down over his loyal subjects, resembling a puppet master as the audience rose and fell to the jazzy base line.
It felt like Fiasco wasn’t going to have to work very hard to impress this audience; even some of his lesser-known tunes were warmly welcomed with head nods, although there was a noticeable lack of audience participation during some of the new material from Lasers. The sound was dark and aggressive with guitar solos that wouldn’t have sounded out of place at a Metallica show.
‘Kick, Push’ and ‘Go Go Gadget Flow’ quickly got everyone dancing again to catchy R&B grooves. Later he sat quietly on a stool, feet dangling, and performed the introspective ‘Beautiful Lasers’, which was appealing in that film soundtrack sort of way. Closing the night with a bouncy rendition of ‘Superstar’, Lupe proved that he really does have the talent to back up all the lip and cockiness.
Check out the above picture, and more, on the Kluster Gallery.
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lupe fiasco, enmore theatre