Friday, August 25, 2017

Kendrick Lamar 8/22/17 Columbus, Ohio at the Schott

     I was excited to see Kendrick Lamar for the second time. In 2014, Kendrick played the Sweet Life Festival in Maryland in 2014 and I was there. He was a rising hip hop artist at the time with subdued stage presence. Back in 2014, it was Kendrick and a DJ on stage with no special lighting or presentation. The performance however was terrific.
VENUE: The Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. If the venue was not sold out, it was nearly so.
OPENERS: D.R.A.M. and YG were the openers.
MERCHANDISE: There was a good variety of merchandise.
HEADLINER: Kendrick Lamar's stage presence is sure maturing. He was fully in command on the stage. His alter-ego "Kung Fu Kenny" was in full effect with kung fu artists doing acrobatics, Kendrick himself doing a stunt where he appeared to he held above another artist while horizontal (see picture), and video clips highlighting the kung fu theme.
     Kendrick had the crowd singing along from the start. During "Humble", the crowd sang most of the song while Kendrick nodded and gestured. It was powerful.
     Kendrick Lamar put on a great show. He is on the top of his game and surely one of the top contemporary hip hop artists. I thoroughly enjoyed the show and hope to see him again.
     I am better with pictures than words, so here are photos from the show. Of note: they did not allow professional photographers into the pit to photograph the show. I am sure somebody might have had an equivalent camera to my Canon G16 Powershot at the show, but I did not see it. These might be the best photos released for the show (that is not usually true of my photos! Usually some professionals are also shooting a show).