[PICS] Lil Wayne wows fans at Blaisdell
Jason Genegabus photos
What was easily the biggest hip-hop concert of 2009 (so far) lived up to expectations on Saturday, when Grammy Award-winning rapper Lil Wayne headlined his “I Am Music” tour at the Blaisdell Arena with opening acts Electrik Red and Keri Hilson.
Approximately 6,000 fans packed the venue and showed plenty of aloha to the openers before going nuts for Wayne’s set. Performing on a customized three-level stage complete with fireworks and pyrotechnics, he took the crowd from his early days with Cash Money Records to his latest single, “Prom Queen,” and made sure to give his Young Money Records artists plenty of face time as well.
When I got to the Blaisdell on Saturday, I wasn’t entirely sure I’d be able to get inside.
For weeks, I’d sent a number of e-mails and made repeated telephone calls to the mainland promoters responsible for the show. Nobody responded to my multiple requests for access, however, so I didn’t know what kind of situation I was heading into the night of the concert.
I stood by the back gate at the Blaisdell for about a half-hour, hoping to get my hands on one of these:
In the end, I ended up with a green wristband – not a purple one, like the sign says – and instructions to wait for a handler, who would walk me into the arena.
While I was waiting, someone involved with the production walked up to the back gate and attempted to “speak Philly talk” with another individual. I guess they were trying to communicate something without this journalist figuring it out, but I caught on as soon as I heard them utter the word “Yeezy.”
A few minutes later, a blacked out Ford Excursion pulled into the backstage area, followed by a caravan of white utility vans, and a bunch of people spilled out:
Can you spot Kanye West?
Me neither. But the “Louis Vuitton Don” was somewhere in that crowd:
Lil Wayne was also supposed to enter through the same back gate, but by now it was 7:45 p.m. and I could hear the first song of Electrik Red’s set getting started inside. My handler was nowhere to be found, so one of the security guards ended up walking me in.
Instead of my normal position near the Blaisdell stage, I was shown to an area near the mixing board. Dodging folks in the crowd who were still looking for their seats, I tried to get a few shots of Electrik Red.
These ladies strike me as one of those girl groups in the same vein as Destiny’s Child or Danity Kane – four divas with pretty faces and banging bodies who can sing and dance.
And dance they did:
They also cursed up a storm during their set. Didn’t seem very ladylike to me, especially with all the youngsters in the audience.
Speaking of the audience, here’s a look at my vantage point of the stage between Electrik Red’s and Hilson’s sets:
There were more than a few empty seats in the risers and upstairs, but they were all filled up by the time Wayne got on stage.
After a short break, Hilson came out around 8:15 p.m. to more cheers from the crowd:
Despite feeling under the weather last week (she posted on her Twitter page that she was coming down with something), Hilson made the trip to Honolulu with her DJ and a couple of backup dancers in tow.
Oh… and it was her, not Wayne, who scored a cameo appearance by Mr. West:
Kanye is still in town, recording with his G.O.O.D. Music artist Kid Cudi at a studio in Hawaii Kai. He came out to back Hilson on “Knock U Down” at the Blaisdell:
After another, longer intermission, Lil Wayne came out with the help of an extended entrance video. You could tell the dude was happy to be here, since he never stopped grinning for the first five minutes or so that he was on stage:
He also made it a point to remind everyone that he’s number one in the hip-hop game:
Here’s a look at what the “I Am Music” stage looked like on Saturday. Besides the lights, fireworks and pyro, Wayne also had a full band on hand to back him up:
Starting with “Mr. Carter,” Wayne had everyone in the Blaisdell captivated from the start.
Hilson returned early in his set to reprise her hit single, “Turnin’ Me On,” after performing a shorter version during her set. She also recycled a bit used throughout the “I Am Music” tour’s mainland run, joking there was “nothing little about Lil Wayne.”
Weezy didn’t let up, taking fans on a trip down memory lane with “Fireman,” “Tha Block is Hot” and “Back That Azz Up.” He also made time to showcase his Young Money Records artists before coming back with current hits like “Mrs. Officer” and “Lollipop,” plus a couple of mixtape cuts from the last year or so.
Honolulu fans even got to see Wayne break out his electric guitar for “Prom Queen,” even though he didn’t bother to attempt playing it.
If I had to give this concert a rating, I’d give it a solid four stars (out of five). The lack of a complete “I Am Music” artist lineup was disappointing – adding Gym Class Heroes and T-Pain to the lineup should have been a priority for the promoters, if you ask me.
Still, anyone who doubts Wayne’s superstar appeal should have gone to this show. He’s worked hard at developing an experience that not only pays tribute to his hip-hop roots, but also backs up his claim that he’s the “greatest rapper alive.”
