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Pete Rock & CL Smooth + Camp Lo (Nov 13)
After a long few weeks of travel, I capped it off with a night at the Shrine for Pete Rock, CL Smooth and Camp Lo. The event was put on by Heineken and had a lot of potential.
Door opens at 9pm and Camp Lo took the stage at 11pm for a 20 minute set. Having seen them before, it was cool to see them again. At various times during the set they were having off-mic conversations (not a few words, either) on stage, which was odd. I expected them to be a lot more engaging with the crowd than they were. Nobody cared. They did the classics and kept it moving.
Then we waited for another 30-40 mins for the headliners to come out. Pete Rock just walked out, no intro, and set up. People went nuts. Too cool. After the promoter came out and did the intro, CL Smooth took the stage. Talk about high energy. He was all over the place. and unlike other old school artists, he looked like he had done his part to stay in shape.
At one point during the set, CL left and Pete Rock just DJ'd us through a series of Pete Rock remixes. It was great to think about his influence of top artists over 20 years.
The night was good, but I don't think the promoter did their part. Every other show I've been to, they fill the early dead time with local artists. CHI has a huge, talented indie hip hop scene and they were completely ignored. As a result, we stood around listening to a DJ for 2 hours while waiting for a 20 min Camp Lo set. Then we sat another 30 mins before the headliner. I get that Heineken is a global brand, but you gotta involve the local artists. Not only is it good pub for them, it is better for the capacity crowd you assembled with higher-than-normal ticket prices. The artist did their thing, but the night left something to be desired.
Read MoreDoor opens at 9pm and Camp Lo took the stage at 11pm for a 20 minute set. Having seen them before, it was cool to see them again. At various times during the set they were having off-mic conversations (not a few words, either) on stage, which was odd. I expected them to be a lot more engaging with the crowd than they were. Nobody cared. They did the classics and kept it moving.
Then we waited for another 30-40 mins for the headliners to come out. Pete Rock just walked out, no intro, and set up. People went nuts. Too cool. After the promoter came out and did the intro, CL Smooth took the stage. Talk about high energy. He was all over the place. and unlike other old school artists, he looked like he had done his part to stay in shape.
At one point during the set, CL left and Pete Rock just DJ'd us through a series of Pete Rock remixes. It was great to think about his influence of top artists over 20 years.
The night was good, but I don't think the promoter did their part. Every other show I've been to, they fill the early dead time with local artists. CHI has a huge, talented indie hip hop scene and they were completely ignored. As a result, we stood around listening to a DJ for 2 hours while waiting for a 20 min Camp Lo set. Then we sat another 30 mins before the headliner. I get that Heineken is a global brand, but you gotta involve the local artists. Not only is it good pub for them, it is better for the capacity crowd you assembled with higher-than-normal ticket prices. The artist did their thing, but the night left something to be desired.
