Steppin Lasers - Part I

Sorry for the delay, but I'm finally writing about the epic sold-out B.o.B/Lupe Fiasco show on April 13th at the 930 club. I have to thank London for selling me his extra ticket last minute. Chicago's finest (sorry Kanye and Common) Lupe Fiasco is putting out his third (and last?) album titled "We are Lasers," and has decided to tour with up-and-comer B.o.B from Atlanta (coming out with the debut album "The Adventures of Bobby Ray") for what was billed to be a high-energy show with lot of crazy lights -- the Steppin Laser Tour. Actually, just learned how to embed video, so check out the Steppin Laser promo here:



I expected this pairing, as I'm sure most others did as well, to push the boundaries of hip-hop, and I'll say they did not disappoint in that regard. Due to the epic nature of this concert, I've got to break up the "review" in two parts, the first part is straight from Lombo who pushed B.o.B early on, and wrote some really good material on our experience at this show. I'll sprinkle some comments in red as well as add some links/video.

Lombo:
This is my second time seeing B.o.B in concert. The first was close to a year ago and it was refreshing to see that his apparent success hasn't changed him for the worse. Actually, it seemed like his success has made him even more "accessible" to the fans. [ed. Especially true when he brought a girl from the crowd on stage, put her in a chair, and sang straight to her. Needless to say, every girl and most guys were pretty jealous]. It was clear that he has the ability to rap, but he wants to use rapping as just one cog in his musical timepiece.
As we stood outside of the venue, BoB just walked by us without a bodyguard or anything and strolled calmly to the back door of the concert hall. The nonchalance of the situation was the only thing that made me second guess if it was, in fact, Bobby Ray. This relaxed attitude would come through immediately when he first took the stage. He was introduced. He walked on stage with a little liquid courage (Conjecture.... but, come on). Put his drink down and jumped immediately into his more recognizably southern rap songs. This "get straight to the music" attitude let everyone in the audience know that this concert was going to be amazing.

After several classic Decatur flows, he invited his band to come on stage and join him. The band was one of the more eclectic groups I have seen in a while. Leading the pack was a taller lanky black guy with massive dread locks (Imagine if Bob Marley and Dhalsim from Street Fighter had a child). His keyboardist/bongo player looked like Bobby Ray's little sister. Although I have no idea what his little sister looks like (or if he even has a little sister), I would not have been surprised if this would have been true [ed. I am pretty sure this WAS, in fact, Bobby Ray's sister]. She was a tiny ball of energy with a swagger reserved for the showiest of Parliament Funkadelic background dancers. Last but not least, was his bass player. He looked like an extra from "The Last Samurai" who switched out his sword for a bass guitar. While introducing him, it was clear that he was the more reserved member of the band. This restrained manner was solidified when the audience began chanting his name later in the concert [ed. lot of asian fans in attendance, which has a lot to do with Lupe Fiasco and his love of Japan]. When it began, BoB looked over to his bassist and began to laugh and pointed at him. The bassists response: a simple shrug of the shoulders.

BoB fluidly transitioned back and forth from slower, more melodic songs, to more traditional hip-hop tracks with a deftness that would make, fellow ATLien, Andre 3000 proud [ed. his traditional hip-hop songs and general confidence reminded me a lot of his executive producer -- T.I.]. It was when he started to play the guitar that you could see his full range of ability and appeal. It was also at this point that I think I lost my girlfriend forever. I brought her into the concert with a base knowledge of BoB, and she left with a new crush on a level only reserved for the likes of John Mayer, Weezy, or any of the interchangeable country music stars (the girl has diverse taste, what can I say). Here is an example of how serious B.o.B plays when on guitar:



Overall, his part of the concert was incredible. I personally have been pushing BoB for quiiiiiiiiiiiite some time now with mixed responses, and I know, for the people that joined me at the concert, he did not disappoint.

Thank you Lombo for the words, and I agree with pretty much everything you say -- I think the reason we enjoyed him so much, is also the reason why he gets criticism. He is so diverse in his talents and his music, that some people think he is all over the place and has no one direction. Here area few tracks all you readers out there might want to check out and decide if you like him or not:

The single, featuring Bruno Mars, "Nothin on you"

New song, featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore and Eminem (provides some vintage, angry lyrics] "Airplanes"

Video of part of the show taken by our friend Hova: