Friends, Fans, & Family Tour 2012 feat. Waka Flocka Flame – REVIEW

The Friends, Fans, & Family Tour featuring Waka Flocka Flame came through Chicago recently at the Congress Theater. You can check out our review after the break.

The Triple F Life tour rolled into Chicago’s Congress Theater on Sunday October 21 for what was supposed to be a solid night of rap music and shenanigans.  Let me say right off the bat that this particular show was not only a major let down, but a serious flaw in in somebody’s planning.  The Congress Theater has been around long enough that artists and bands should know that if their act includes any sort of vocals then the Congress is not for them.  It was both the disgustingly horrid sound and the brutish security that made this particular evening a complete waste of time.

The evening started off with my buddy having to leave his hat in my car because of a newly instated rule against wearing baseball caps.  I got the run around from security about this, but I was eventually informed that it had to do with gang affiliation.  After being screamed at to get in line – this is the norm at this venue – I got inside the building only to be accosted by a man with a metal detector wand.  This was a new experience at Congress Theater, and I certainly never expected security to put his hand down my pants to confirm that my belt buckle was in fact setting off his detector.  I proceeded to the next security checkpoint only to be touched and groped as usual, this time being required to take my shoes off and lift my pant legs.  Whether this extra show of security was for the rap show or its new protocol at Congress, it created a seriously bad vibe for the evening.

After finally making it into the venue I was met with a large stage setup that featured a raised DJ booth as well as a raised platform with drums on it.  The show began soon after my entry, which is exactly the point in which I struggled to figure out what was happening on stage.  One thing to note about a rap show is that the stage is always filled with a multitude of random people, and many times there are unscheduled acts that go on without any announcement.  After a few unrecognizable acts took the stage the scheduled group “Treated Crew” dimmed the lights and came out to a loud cheering and applause.  With the stage holding nine different people at this point, all wearing the same hat that read “Treated,” this Chicago-based crew went hard for a mere four or five songs before quietly exiting stage left.  Treated Crew’s best performed song of the evening was their hit “All Blk” which just recently was released with its music video this month.

It was unusual seeing a female hop on stage after all these angry men had been running around, but Reema Major stormed the stage and took control of the crowd with ease.  Besides Waka, Reema Major was my favorite performer of the night.  After owning her songs “I am Legend,” “Chucky Doll,” and “These Streets,” Reema also rapped over the famous Notorious B.I.G. track “Party and Bullshit,” as well as Jay-Z and Kanye West’s “Niggas In Paris.”  Reema put her own talented spin on the tracks that honestly sounded like they could have been really quality freestyles.

Wooh Da Kid, who is actually a grown man despite the name, is a rapper that went up after Reema Major that failed to impress me.  During Wooh’s set I really felt like he should have opened and been followed by Reema, not the other way around.  Tunes like “Bricksquad Diva” and “Follow Me (I Don’t Understand)” really seemed to fall short of what I was expecting from the guy that was opening for the king Waka Flocka.  Wooh Da Kid’s name upset me, his stage presence upset me, and his songs also upset me.  This was not a set that I had fun with in any way.

Despite the continuously bad sound quality from the Congress, I braved the entire beginning of the show just so I could witness the show that Waka was sure to put on.  By the time Waka took the stage the Congress Theater was still hardly half full, but the tiny crowd let him know that they appreciated his appearance.  “Death of Me,” “Wild Boy,” and “Rolly Up” were the songs that categorized that beginning half of the set.  One notable about Waka is that he isn’t only a rapper, but a performer as well.  For the entire show Waka was running around the stage, jumping in the crowd, and at one point he even put an audience member’s bra on his head.  Towards the middle/end of the set Waka and his crew of about 15 people on stage started pumping out his hits back to back.  “I Don’t Really Care,” “No Hands,” “Round Of Applause,” “Hard In The Paint,” and my favorite “Grove St. Party” were all cranked out with excitement and quality, obviously making this set the best of the night.  For a finishing tune Waka performed an unnamed/unrecorded track that I’ll call “Deuces To My Haters,” which talked about giving the middle finger to your haters.

After seeing more people get kicked out of this show than I have ever before, it is clear that Congress Theater does not enjoy rap music.  A combination of negative security and abominable sound quality made this an unpleasant experience.  Seeing Waka Flocka Flame was an intriguing experience, but I don’t plan on returning to Congress Theater for anything that includes vocals.  I did learn of some music that evening, so it wasn’t a total bust.  Reema Major was a big surprise and it was a solid idea on bringing her along on tour.

Information about the review…
Tour: Friends, Fans, & Family Tour 2012
Artists: Waka Flocka Flame, Wooh Da Kid, Reema Major, Treated Crew
Reviewer: Michael Nutting
Date: October 21, 2012
Venue: Congress Theater in Chicago, IL