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They let you pick up your VIP stuff starting at 4:30pm, but I landed in Cleveland at 5pm, took the red line to my hotel, then took the red line one more stop to downtown Cleveland. I got to the HOB five minutes before the general public was let in. I was a little worried I would have paid extra money to get in early and not get as close as I hoped to be. I walk in, get my ticket, laminate, VIP stuff in a brown bag, then got in the VIP line JUST as the GP was let in. There were about 25-30 VIP's in front of me. Got in at 7pm, and I went straight to the front row, but on the left side of the stage, giving me no view of the drummer, but great view of Kendrick, his guitarist, and his bassist. The security was hella dope, they kept talking to everybody while we waited, plus i was able to order drinks from the front row. Jay Rock went on at 8pm sharp, with a DJ. Good sound. Jay Rock live was cool. Not bad, but he's much more interesting on recordings. Jay Rock was on for about 25 minutes, maybe 30. Then we waited for about 30-40 minutes.
I saw Kendrick on my birthday at the Life is Beautiful Festival in Vegas, and his show was simply amazing, but the idea of seeing him in a venue that is definitely somewhat intimate, i just couldn't pass up. I wanna say Kendrick came on around 9:10, but I could be wrong. Wasn't too long though. His band came out first, then Kendrick came out, and did "For Free?" I think the only songs i don't remember Kendrick performing were "You Ain't Gotta lie" and "Mortal Man," and his band only did a short snippet of "How Much A Dollar Cost." But hearing "Wesley's Theory," "These Walls," and "Hood Politics" was worth my ticket alone. He also did "A.D.H.D.," and "Swimming pools." I thought it was interesting that he didn't bing out Jay Rock for any songs, but kendrick has such great stage presence, you're glad it's just him on stage with his band. He also has very good breath control. Kendrick spoke to the crowd while the band played "Complexion," then they went into "Bitch Don't Kill My Vibe," which is still one of my favorite songs of the last 15 years. He finished with an encore of "Alright," getting the crowd to chant the chorus louder, and then softer, really getting everyone into it.
His bassist and guitarist put on a great show as well. Whenever they had brief solos, they were dope. The band was just what I was waiting to hear on songs like "For Free?" and "Institutionalized."
Kendrick was on stage for about an hour and a half, though it could be a little longer than that. Afterwards, I went to a bar to watch the Warriors beat the Clippers, and then went back to my hotel. Started going through my VIP stuff. The laminate is cool. The poster i really like. The vinyl will be shipped to me. The two shirts, like Hitokiri mentioned, were incredibly wack. Just a cheap shirt with some small crappy pictures of them on it. I expected the tour shirt, but that was my only disappointment, so oh well. Also, like Hitokiri mentioned, it would be great if Kendrick added a horn section to his band. ************************************************************
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