Preceding Fiasco was B.o.B., an Atlanta rapper backed bya tepid, thoroughly boring rock band. The crowd still seemed to take to them,although the group probably benefited from enthusiasm for the night’s mainattraction, as chants of “Lupe, Lupe” began before they had even vacated thestage.
As for the man himself, Fiasco’senergetic, charismatic and infectious performance encapsulated everything thathas propelled him to (near) superstardom. He displayed his own rockist bent byadding a live drummer and guitar player to the standard DJ/MC setup, thoughthat only exacerbated the usual sound problems with rap shows at The Rave,namely that the vocals often become buried under a deluge of poorly mixed bass.Despite professing to be rather ill, Fiasco seemed committed to pleasing hisfans, warmly recalling his appearance at UW-Milwaukee’s Pantherfest and pouringhis all into crowd favorites like “Daydreamin’” and “Superstar.”
Overall it was a solid, satisfyingshow, given extra appeal by the fact that most other national rap acts seem toomit our fair city from their touring schedules. Still, it wasn’t so impressivethat it didn’t allow the opportunity to ponder a few minor distractions, likethe omnipresent odor of reefer or the puzzling, somewhat disappointing factthat even though the tour has been dubbed the “Steppin Laser” tour, the showdidn’t include a single laseronly an abundance of strobe lights.
