A few nights ago, even more so than usual, Las Vegas was the place to be. As part of the LONGLIVEA$AP tour, Mandalay Bay’s House of Blues served as the perfect place for pre-Halloween madness with Danny Brown, School Boy Q and the A$AP Mob. So how was the show? Basically it was a visual representation of what one might imagine Satan’s womb to be like: full of hype-ass crazy people rapping; gas masks; black and white, upside-down American flags; light and smoke. Though Rocky was the star of the show— fittingly so, seeing as how it is his/his mob’s tour— the night was an amazing display of each performer’s strength and personality.
Danny Brown opened up and was dope. Though it seemed like a lot of the Vegas crowd was less familiar with his stuff, he got those in the know ready to flip cars with newer cuts like “Molly Ringwald” and a selection of favorites from “XXX.” Like the blade of a ninja master, he performed song after song after song with laser-like precision. Danny didn’t bother to talk or address the crowd too much though (except for correcting an over-zealous Dopehead upon his thanking of the wrong city).
Schoolboy Q, whom you best believe is chock full-o-charisma, receives the award for most consistent crowd energy. He knows how to get the kids excited and keep them excited. Ab-Soul came out for “Druggys with Hoes Again” and then Danny joined Ab for his “Terrorist Threats” jawn. The lineup of the tour is killer for this. Since all of the artists involved have collaborated in some way, they’re able to bring each other out and really have fun. And if there is anything that a LONGLIVEA$AP show is, it is definitely fun.
Following the first two of three dudes with names ending in a “Y,” Rocky arrived and was ready to melt face. Complete with a straight-jacket-vest(?) and goon mask on, he spent equal time both solo and performing with the rest of his clan. Now, I’ve never been the biggest Rocky fan out there, but something very interesting happened during the show: he made me a bonafide fan. Between telling everyone that they were part of one big family reunion, graciously saluting and slapping his chest whenever spotting a crowd member giving him love or calling a dude onstage in order to break up a fight, this kid has class. Far removed is the image of a painfully cocky youngin’. Somehow, amidst all the jumping around, flying water, helicopter intros/outros and “I’m-the’shit-ness” required to do what he does, everyone in the world can see how real he is when he’s on stage. Unfortunately, things slowed down a lot when him and Twelvy were looking for “just one girl” in the crowd for five minutes (disappointingly for the sole reason of asking if she would swallow his “cockiness”), but the energy managed to climb again as the show neared its end. Bottom line is that if you get the chance to go to one of the shows on this tour, do it. You don’t have to like A$AP Rocky but by the end of the night, you will respect him and know that you had a really good time in the process.
Post was written by James Shahan, a writer based in Las Vegas with published work in URB Magazine as well as ZIF.
