Big Sean’s show this past Sunday was a perfect example of how sloppy execution can hamper what could have been a great show for fans.
While his stage presence and performance did nothing that would change peoples’ minds about his music, his setlist comprised some of his best songs, and he did fairly well at compensating for the absence of feature guests. Still neither of those attributes was enough to make up for some of the more disappointing aspects of the night.
The show began with a DJ brought out on stage to pump up the crowd and unfortunately this was the first problem of the evening. While DJ sets can be a great way of getting the crowd ready, they are usually best kept to a length of less than 30 minutes. Instead, the audience was forced to sit through an hour and forty minutes of two separate DJs, neither of who managed to set themselves apart from the other.
Following such a dismal start was the show’s opener, Casey Veggies took the stage failing to do much more than sing along with the production of each song. Veggies barely managed to discern himself from the pre-recorded vocals of each track, never delivering any note-worthy bars. That’s not to say his set had no positive attributes. Unfortunately, the best thing about it was its length, clocking in at just under half an hour.
After a brief interlude between performers, Big Sean’s set began. Adding to the list of sloppy mistakes however, was the overuse of fog machines which left the man all but visible for the first few songs of his performance.
While such an effect might be utilized to enhance the aesthetic experience of the show, its abundance did more to hamper visibility than it did to add any mystique. Once the cloud had dissipated, Big Sean demonstrated why so many people had appeared to see him that night. He has a lot of talent when it comes to pop rap, and managed to demonstrate how many catchy songs he has under his belt.
The biggest problem I had with his set, honestly, was the fact that I missed hearing the other performers on many of his most well-known songs such as “Blessings” or even tracks he collaborated on like “Mercy” and “Clique”.
Big Sean might have known what the crowd wanted, but it’s too bad he could not have fixed so many simple mistakes like an overextended DJ set or an abundance of fog, as well as get a more impressive opener than a veteran rapper who has missed his opportunity to blow up.
