Young the Giant formed in Irvine, California a mere eight years ago. Nas’s debut album Illmatic was released ten years prior. This generational gap by no means implies that people can’t and don’t like both of these artists at the same time. But judging by the mass exodus of Welsh-Ryan Arena after the opening set by Young the Giant, it seems like Northwestern students were tuned in to only one frequency. Concert attendance is not a completely valid individual barometer of a performance’s success. Just because no one was around to hear the tree fall during Nas’s set doesn’t mean the man didn’t make a sound. But watching a group of people who paid ten dollars to see your show, walk out before you’ve gotten a chance to prove to them why that money shouldn’t have been spent on Cheesie’s, must take the wind out of your sails. For that reason, amongst others, A&O’s Fall Blowout was riddled with highs and lows like the emotional landscape of an episode of The Simple Life.
Good Things
1. Young the Giant’s energy: The 20-something-year-old, chipper hipsters showed that they weren’t too cool to try. Of course they held off on playing “My Body” until the final song but it was well worth the wait, as mustached lead singer Sameer Gadhia hurled his voice and self around the neon-light infused stage. With recent sets at South by Southwest, Sasquatch! Music Festival and the VMAs they’ve definitely cultivated some performing chops.
2. Nas’s DJ/Hypeman: Before the MC even hit the stage, Nas’s DJ was bumping “Birthday Song,” and I was getting hot under the collar about 2 Chainz not being there. The DJ ran through a collection of songs you’d hear on an album introducing foreigners to American rap music including “Juicy,” “Still D.R.E.,” and perennial crowd-stomper “Ruff Ryders Anthem.” The bass shattered a couple rib bones before Nas showed up, announced by his DJ as the third best rapper of all time, after only Biggie and ‘Pac of course.
3. Young the Giant played R. Kelly's "Ignition (Remix)." ‘Nuff said.
Not-so-Good Things
1. Nas skipping around his greatest hits: It’s one thing to try to cover all your artistic ground. It’s another to indiscriminately rifle through individual verses from some of your most beloved hits. Halfway through his set, Nas got into this pattern, the energy level inside Welsh-Ryan plummeted, and it struggled to resurface before the night was done.
2. Long break between sets: Waiting almost half an hour for Nas to appear after Young the Giant finished did nothing to inspire the already somewhat disinterested crowd. Adding insult to injury, the long wait was due to Nas getting a haircut from his personal barber. He showed off his fresh cut by sporting a beanie onstage.
3. Chairs on the main floor: Early entrance to the Fall Blowout earns students the opportunity to stand on the main floor in front of the stage. This year, rows of chairs primarily occupied the whole area, an organizational decision allegedly made by the athletic department. It made it seem like far fewer people were allowed into that area, as everyone rushed to stand near the stage leaving a sea of empty plastic seats like those vacated between the Bar Mitzvah service and party.
In its fourth year in this current format, the A&O Fall Blowout arrived with fever pitch excitement and exited with subdued satisfaction. Wonder what would’ve happened if John Mayer was actually the one who played “Daughters.”