the great hangover tour rolled through houston last night, and not going would’ve been a huge slip-up. all together, the show was incredible, no lie. the only reason i initially went was because through some subway promotion (eat fresh, ya’ll) i was able to acquire some $5 tickets, which was much better than the $30+ price they were asking.

the entire line-up, save for asher roth, was very promising. cudi’s pretty much sucked live the last two times i’ve seen him, but i’ve heard this particular set of his was worth watching.

anyway, hit the jump for the full show recap, and several more videos.

-the great grizzly

right when we got to the venue, the triple threat of pac div started their set. i haven’t really gotten into a lot of their music, but for what it’s worth, they had a good stage presence and i’m sure they made a lot of new fans that night. however, while watching em’ perform, i can’t help but give a shout out to the cool kids, who they’ve obviously taken a few notes from. as far as performance, actual music right down to the way that the dressed, they’re like a less ‘el camino’ type of laid-back than chuck and mikey. not a terrible thing by any means, but hopefully they step into their own soon enough. their set did make me finally buckle down and listen to church league champions, which you should do too.

b.o.b. came out next and got a bad start after calling us austin. really? h8 u austin. anyway, they all shut up after he started playing, and his set was basically the concept of the b.o.b. vs bobby ray mixtape come to life. he did some of his rock songs, he did some of his more lyrical ventures and just covered all of his bases. obvious highlight of the night would’ve had to have been when he brought out bun b to do his verse on “i am the man,” which absolutely got the crowd going. i know he’s just an opener on this tour, but it’s a shame that he didn’t get to bring his band crew out with him, because the drummer (name escapes me) is one of the most talented drummers i’ve ever seen play live. maybe next time, though.

it was pretty obvious that the sore thumb on the tour (as far as who i like and don’t like) was asher roth. by no means was i excited to see his set, considering he’s the guy who wrote “i love college.” after i heard the saved by the bell theme song and saw him roll on stage in what seemed to be a kid’s escalade, i figured i’d give him a fair shot. asher roth may not be a great rapper or artist in general, but i really enjoyed his live set. he knew how to get the crowd going and had a lot of stage presence. also, his own stage entourage of his touring drummer and dj recognize was definitely a plus side to it all.

finally, kid cudye west came out and wow’d us all with his very kanye-esque LED light backdrop. i’m not complaining at all, that shit was an incredible aesthetic to the overall feel of his set and went very well with his slow stuff (mr. solo dolo, man on the moon, et. al). felt like i was getting my $5 worth. it also looks like the man got several lessons on how to perform live, as he was much better than he was back in march opening up for estelle. definitely impressed with his set, but i spent most of my time eyeballing and gawking the shit out of that incredible LED set-up he had. after seeing him step up his live show so much, i REALLY hope his album doesn’t flop.

anyway, great show. don’t miss it when it hits your city, especially if you can catch the tickets on the cheap like i did.

more videos courtesy of onenecktwochains”

b.o.b. – satellite:

b.o.b. – generation lost

asher roth – lark on my go-kart:

kid cudi – mr. solo dolo:

kid cudi – down and out:

setlists:

[b.o.b.]

haterz everywhere (intro)
patron & swag freestyle
mr. bobby
mellow fellow
i am the man f. bun b
voltage f. playboy tre
some other song with playboy
lovelier than you
generation lost (a capella)
on top of the world
satellite
i’ll be in the sky

[kid cudi]

intro
down and out
dat new new
mr. solo dolo
man on the moon
is there any love?
cudi spazzin
heart of a lion
embrace the martian
sky high
daps and pounds (a capella)
sky might fall
make her say
day and nite
heaven at nite

myspace:

kid cudi.
asher roth.
b.o.b.
pac div.

-the great grizzly