all photo credits in this post are © grant tucker.

it seems the g.o.o.d. music aura of both big sean and kid cudi have been wearing thin as of late. with cudi’s recent antics and sean’s lackluster follow-up to 2009’s uknowbigsean, i was a bit hesitant about seeing a headline show from the latter party. my only live experience with big sean was during last year’s sxsw when he made a brief 3-song appearance during kanye west’s g.o.o.d. music showcase, and there was an obvious hubris surrounding the events of that show.

for his first tour in texas, sean made the in-store appearances, had four shows and brought along freesol and mickey factz along for the ride. this past thursday’s stop was in the restaurant part of the HOB, which could fit a max of 300. so when i showed up to a line of 2 blocks long, it’s safe to say the show wasn’t off to a good start.

hit the jump for the rest of the recap.

-grizzly

i have to say, house of blues really dropped the ball this time. not only had they double booked that night, but they were clearly unprepared for the crowd that showed up for big sean and company. having a general idea of how houston works, i was definitely shocked when i saw what was easily 300 people WITH tickets in line for this show. to add insult to injury, the doors were at 10 for a show with 3 local acts and 3 touring acts.

after finally getting in the venue at around 10:20 to the graces of todd and the niceguys, the first acts were ready to get on. austin’s kydd took the stage and left without making a lasting impression on me personally. no shots though. i was too busy trying to find a spot where i could see the stage over dudes that towered past six feet and getting my beer on. i had taken a glance at the sound guy’s setlist for the night, and noticed that they only allowed FIVE minutes between acts for set-up, mic-checks and the like.

this was a mistake of disastrous proportions.

weworemasks favorites the niceguys are getting ready to release the show on tuesday, september 28, so this would be the last show before the album dropped. the group set out to make a viable impression on the patrons of HOB, but had a difficult time doing so. although their set was energetic, the sound engineers clearly didn’t know what they were doing. with three mics on stage all set at different levels, a PA system being shot to shit with the bass overhaul and a guitar and drumset on stage, there was room for a lot of error.

in spite of the adversity, the niceguys managed to run through “it’s like that,” crowd favorites such as “supreme team” and “not at all” (jack freeman naturally put it down on the latter) and even threw in some new cuts. their closer, “mr. perfect,” was on the brink of winning over 100 new fans during the bridge, but the HOB had different plans. they figured that the middle of the second hook was a good time to completely shut the sound off and reason it with “there are time restrictions.” and just like that – the entire mood of the show shifted.

with another full band on stage, freesol took their precious time setting up and were unimpressive all the same. throwing in two covers in a 25 minute set is NOT a good look on any standard. there was a fair share of technical difficulties as well, so the crowd was undoubtedly listless during their set.

mickey factz came up next, eyewear game in tact from the last time we saw him during sxsw 2009. factz came out swinging with a mound of energy and a mission to drop some of his heaviest hitters, including run throughs of “incredible” and “rockin and rollin.” during his set, he announced that his mixtape, i’m better than you, would be dropping come monday [september 27], and he made note to bring a few of the tape’s tracks to the stage. factz sent thecrowd off on a high note with “paradise,” but not before complaining about the venue’s sound and lighting first.

and it had come down to see if big sean‘s hype was well-deserved or even warranted in the first place. knowing well where he was, he kicked off his set with southern-favorite “rollin,” which pretty much set the rest of his performance in place. sean performed with more energy than he’s ever exuded in any interview or studio performance, which is always a good thing for rappers who don’t have full bands and rely on DJs. it was packed and the entire crowd came to show love, strangely for the finally famous vol. III heavy set. all 300+ people knew all the words to every song, and really made me realize how “odd man out” i felt, considering how flat FF3 fell.

sean had planned to have several “surprises” during the show, but everyone knew that bun b, slim thug and other houston alumni would be in the building. sure enough, both latter parties and lil flip were all brought on stage to perform their biggest song, or in bun’s case, his collaboration with big sean, “money and sex.”

the downfalls of sean’s set were in plentiful. performing two of his collaborations with mike posner, putting slow songs back to back in the setlist and leaving off some of your biggest songs are just among many of the problems. “desire want and need” is perhaps sean’s best song, and he only touched base on the hook. “getcha some” and “million dollars,” two of his previous singles, weren’t even on the setlist. and while he did play many of of FF3’s blunder, he also performed “in my closet” and “too fake” both some of the mixtape’s worst efforts.

overall, it was a valiant effort on sean’s part. he managed to carry the crowd through the entire hour-long set, and no one seemed to have left that disappointed in the actual performances. it would be in the HOB’s best interest to take standard precautions and be more prepared for shows in the future. soundchecks aren’t and shouldn’t be a foreign concept.

[SETLISTS]

[the niceguys]

it’s like that
supreme team
toast
not at all
good shepherd
mr. perfect

[mickey factz]

new song
new song
incredible
rockin’ and rollin
showin’ love
paradise

[big sean]

rollin
posner collab
i got five on it
fat raps
made
high rise
too fake
ambiguous
love story
in my closet
[houston medley; slim thug cameo (still tippin); lil flip cameo (who cares?)]
meant to be
desire, want and need
money and sex (with bun b)
supa dupa
memories
lemonade
bullshittin’