Review: Hot 103 Summer Jam 1

Tech N9ne is the "King of Kansas City." Photo by Bill Brownlee

T.I. may be the King of the South. And Keyshia Cole is one of the brightest lights in R&B. But make no mistake- Friday night belonged to Tech N9ne.

Radio station KPRS' Summer Jam 1 at Capitol Federal Park at Sandstone featured a parade of established stars and promising hopefuls. Tech N9ne's masterful performance overshadowed them all.

By virtually every gauge- including musical ambition, audience response and time on stage- Tech N9ne dominated. The Kansas City-based artist continued to demonstrate that he's capable of elevating the level of his performance to match the import of the occasion.

Keanthony turns up the heat. Photo by Fred Blocher

Although the set differed little from his sold-out April show at the Uptown Theater, Tech N9ne and collaborators Krizz Kaliko and Kutt Calhoun exuded fresh passion and energy. The presence of Tech N9ne's mother might have been a factor.

"This is her first Tech N9ne show," Tech N9ne said after an emotional onstage embrace during his 80-minute performance. "She's a serious, top-notch Christian."

It certainly wasn't the first Tech N9ne show for many in the audience of approximately 5,000. Well over a third were Tech N9ne loyalists.

Following Tech N9ne's explosive display was a tough assignment, but Keyshia Cole acquitted herself well in a solid but inexplicably brief thirty-minute appearance.

Where Tech N9ne's music is pure masculine id, Keyshia Cole exudes a tough but very feminine aesthetic. More confident than at her 2007 show opening for R. Kelly at the Sprint Center, Cole seems determined to achieve the crossover success enjoyed by Alicia Keys and Chris Brown.

Her band added new nuances to hits including "Let It Go" and "I Remember." It didn't hurt that the sound field at Sandstone is superior to the Sprint Center's.

When Cole quit the stage without any advance warning, her fans were puzzled and disappointed.

Unlike Cole, T.I. could hardly restrain himself from sharing his thoughts with the crowd. The embattled star repeatedly vented anger and frustration during his headlining set. Alluding to his legal woes, he attacked 'haters," informants and anyone not "representing."

"I live by real n***** rules," he ranted. "Going to die by real n***** rules."

Many of his hits, particularly "Live In the Sky," were imbued with additional meaning. T.I.'s unaccompanied rap at the conclusion of "No Matter What," his defiant new single, was spine-tingling.

It was a bizarre, completely captivating performance.

Scheduling issues marred an otherwise seamless event. T.I.'s last song ended about eight hours after the concert's first performance began. The first round of artists were forced to rush through abbreviated sets.

Those appearances were followed by an interminable eighty-minute gap before Tech N9ne's performance. Another delay of forty-minutes preceded T.I.'s set. This flawed time management is a disservice to the thousands of fans who dutifully arrived at the shade-free venue when the gates opened at 3 p.m.

Keanthony was one of the artists who suffered. His set of fine contemporary Southern soul was abruptly cut off after fifteen minutes. His protestations were in vain. Excellent neo-soul singers Eric Benet and Noel Gourdin also had difficult times.

"It looks like the average age is about eighteen," Benet said of the crowd. "But I know there are some grown and sexy people out there."

Sadly, few seemed to appreciate Benet's exquisite voice and tasteful material. Most of the hip hop-oriented audience also ignored Gourdin's transcendently soulful hit "The River."

The sandpaper rasp of Gorilla Zoe was more to the audience's taste. His raunchy "Juicebox" and pronouncedly politically incorrect "Hood Figga" delighted the sun-baked masses.

Members of Camp 22 crank it. Photo by Bill Brownlee

Camp 22, a group that claims to have invented the dance craze popularized by Soulja Boy, offered lightweight fun. Their most notable accomplishment may have been to have collectively violated every last one of the Power & Light District's dress code policies.

Friday's concert was the first major event at the reconfigured Bonner Springs theater. The new layout should be a boon for devotees of mosh pits and for fans willing to jockey for a position close to the stage. Bare concrete now lies where the front seats once resided. The remaining seats begin with row "V."

Sandstone's new configuration was a hit with fans on Friday. Photo by Bill Brownlee

Much as been made of the venue's "green initiatives." A handful of these elements were on display Friday. Designated bins for plastics have been added, paper towels were not available in restrooms, and food choices now include Local Burger. A "buffalo burger" costs $7.00.

Here's a sampling of other prices at Sandstone: Beer could be purchased for $5.00, wine for $6.00 and water for $3.00. Parking was $10.00.

Alas, escaping the parking lot at the conclusion of a show remains an exercise in patience.

| Bill Brownlee, Special to The Star

Comments

[dlove]

Thanks for the review. Finally. Someone willing to stay thoughout the entire performance to give a fair review. Nothing like the crap we got for rythym and ribs

[Dbaby]

Krizz Calico you stole the show! That guy Tech is great too! But you were
"Stupid Fabulous." "That's a good thing to say here in the dirty-dirty"...
I'm not sure what Ms. Keisha's problem was at Sandstone, but it really didn't matter! The show belonged to you, "BIG CALICO" and TECH.
Calico, thanks for sharing your skin condition "vitaligo" with you fans via your music. I have a skin condition too. Thanks for being so talented and keeping it REAL! I too, like the other writer who lives in Atlanta want you and Tech to perform in Atlanta this fall. I will be returning to college. Please, Please, Please come to Atlanta!
"Love ya Big Calico" AND...Keep
"doing it like I like it...Baby!