Leaving the Hopkins bubble is always a shock — the close-knit community and isolation of campus often leave students astounded to see children, adults, even pets.
Going to concerts then is like having multiple heart attacks in a row.
The crowd for genre-defying (but mostly rap-centric) Travie McCoy was replete with fans of all ages; the overwhelming majority of attendees claimed high school or middle school status, though several stalwart adults braved the crowds to see the lineup. A few were even childless.
The tour, cleverly entitled “Sgt. Schlepper’s Club Band Who Needs Hearts Tour” and featuring supporting artists Bad Rabbits, XV, Donnis and The Black Cards, hit Baltimore the first Sunday of spring break — that is, March 20. The lineup was a grab bag of styles, ranging from groovy funk to rap to retro mariachi.
Boston band Bad Rabbits took the stage first. In most cases, the order in which bands perform directly reflects their general popularity or, dare I say it, skill.
Bearing this in mind, the sheer talent and charisma of Bad Rabbits’ stage show blew the audience away.
Frontman Dua Boakye’s voice worked incredibly well (not many men can pull off sexy and falsetto simultaneously), and all five members went above and beyond the call of duty with smooth and sassy, choreographed full-body slides except for the drummer, who necessarily refrained to, well, play the drums.
The choreography honestly was a stroke of genius.
Not only did it engage the entire band (the drummer laughed — it counts as participation), but it also gave band members a chance to play around and actually show some personality. The audience ate it up. Rather than starting weak, as is typical for concerts like these, Bad Rabbits clobbered even Debbie Downers with good-natured ‘tude.
Next to perform was Kansas-born-and-raised rapper XV (like the letters ‘X’ and ‘V,’ not like the roman numeral 15). Also known as “the kid with the green backpack,” XV performed with an energy that bordered on aggressive.
Though a prolific writer (as part of a project of his blog, XV released a new song every day and every night for 40 days), the rapper’s set fell flat. Logistical choices such as bringing a Kansas City friend onstage for a little impromptu freestyling and introducing himself with a song that comprised mostly of the origins of his name, made this otherwise adequate performance difficult to swallow.
Donnis, also a rapper, continued the less than stellar streak. Both XV and Donnis spent much of their stage time on call-and-responses, anecdotes and straight-up conversations with the audience.
While reaching to the fans was nice in theory, Donnis ran out of time and seemed surprised to be ushered off the stage. The rapper had decent flow, though the occasional melodic interlude was painful to hear.
The strangest part of the night was to follow. Pete Wentz, of internet infamy and Fall Out Boy fame, spearheaded his newest band’s venture into retro pop. The Black Cards rely heavily on Bebe Rexha’s husky voice to achieve the speakeasy, old-timey radio atmosphere that characterizes their sound.
Wentz’s actual ability to play his bass was unfortunate (something he has admitted previously), though guitarist Nate Patterson’s ability to pull double duty on keyboard was admirable.
After their set concluded, Wentz headed to the merch booth to satisfy the hordes of fans that, even after the disbanding of Fall Out Boy, seemed unchanged in their affection.
Last to perform was Travie McCoy, of Katy Perry and Gym Class Heroes fame. The Brooklyn-based rapper used his considerable charm to further endear himself to his fans; he first ordered the audience to hug the person next to them and, surprisingly, they did.
A touring band, including the guitarist of band Chester French, provided depth and shape for the now solo McCoy. Though the musicality of this backing band was solid, there was little interaction between them.
McCoy’s laid-back, but optimistic approach to song writing paid off as the crowd danced along with the steady beats that grounded all of his songs. Radio hit “Billionaire” roused a substantial cheer (Bruno Mars sadly did not make an appearance), though “We’ll Be Alright” and “Dr. Feel Good” seemed to be crowd favorites. The highlight of the show, at least for the attendees, was the appearance of Wentz during some of the songs.
While there were high points during the concert, issues also arose because Baltimore was the third stop of the tour; the newness of the set-up was apparent in Donnis’s confusion over how long his set ran.
Nonetheless, Bad Rabbits’ set in particular proved that it was possible to run a tight set despite the unfamiliarity of the tour.
