If ever decides to stop rapping, he could double as a comedian. The Long Beach, CA artist spent lots of time cracking jokes with the audience at the sold-out Bluebird Theater on Saturday night, slapping hands and dancing around with unsurprising stamina and energy. It wasn’t his first time in Colorado, but this was his best show here.
“Summertime ’06’ was the centerpiece of the evening, and for good reason. It was one of 2015’s breakout hip-hop albums, and helped usher in the West Coast’s continued rise in the genre. “Norf Norf” and “Surf” were easy fan favorites, but it was Vince’s live performance of “65 Hunnid,” from 2014’s “Hell Can Wait” EP, that pushed the crowd over the top. There were screams, flailing arms and at one point, a few over-zealous folks who had to be restrained from running onto the stage. Staples, in jeans with a t-shirt tucked in, was all smiles and screaming energy as he transitioned into “Dopeman.”
Artists like Vince Staples who have massive success and are used to performing in front of huge crowds tend to swallow smaller audiences live on stage. At one point, he was throwing himself from one end of the stage to the next during “Blue Suede” before running out of space and fist pumping wildly to amp up the crowd.
As usual, Staples closed with mega-hit “Señorita,” which was drowned out by a squealing and screaming young audience, who seemed to know all the lyrics to the “Summertime 06’” debut single. Vince was sheepish at the resounding applause, thanking the crowd before giving shout-outs to his DJ and saying he had more jokes for those who met him at the merch booth. It was impressive, energetic and over before we knew it.
Earlier in the evening Tony Neaks performed in support, warming up the audience ahead of Vince Staples’ set. Tony’s got the look, the energy and the vibe to be a rapstar but his songs weren’t noteworthy.
