While gaining respect for T-Pain as a musician, I learned firsthand how he gained his fame.
Even platinum-selling artists have performances dictated by the type of crowd they are handed. The best groups can mold their show on the fly, catering to the ticketholders as needed.
Cris Cab, 17-year-old Miami native, was already playing by the time we got settled. A few minutes in, I noticed the crowd didn’t seem to be responding to his electro-pop beats. Sure, he’s the opener, but he had energy and catchy lyrics. What more did the patrons want?
It was at this point I realized that the vast majority of the crowd was made up of kids who wouldn’t be able to buy cigarettes until I was out of college. Bieber haircuts, braces and Hollister cologne surrounded me on every side. Only a few adults were scattered about, downing their cups of Bud Light in pockets of couples amongst flat-billed teenagers. I felt old.
This dynamic refused to pay any attention to Cris Cab, or the other two opening bands. Grieves and Budo, belonging to indie rap powerhouse label Rhymesayers, barely got any nods from the teeny-boppers.
Outasight received a little more love with his bass heavy club anthems, but most of the girls were transfixed by their smart phones and the guys were stuck debating on whether or not to start grinding when Gym Class Heroes came on.
When Travie and the boys of Gym Class Heroes did take the stage, they learned fairly quickly that the references to alcohol were not going to get as much of a reaction as they had anticipated. Those that could drink were too smashed to understand, and the rest of the crowd was a few years away from sneaking sips of vodka from their parent’s liquor cabinet.
The band got their cheers instead from swearing every sentence and spreading out their hits “Cupid’s Chokehold” and “Billionaire” among lesser known songs over an hour of playing.
In a moment of respect, the Heroes joined with the crowd in singing “I Will Always Love You” to honor Whitney Houston, which no one could deny had a certain amount of power in it.
After a relatively short set change, the lights cuts out and the man of the hour took the stage.
T-Pain was accompanied by live drums, guitar, deejay and a four person co-ed dance crew. In his hour and a half set he sped through many of his best known and loved songs, from “I’m N Luv” to “Buy U A Drank” to “Booty Work.”
He channeled his inner producer and did remixes of hits by Wiz Khalifa and Flo Rida.
I was shocked at how the seemingly ignorant crowd had come alive and filled the Tyson Events Center with so much energy, due partially to T-Pain’s ability to connect with everyone.
As someone who has consistently been a critic of auto-tune and the apparent lack of talent by those who used it, I’ve been criticizing T-Pain since I can remember. What he showed me on Sunday night was that he is not the no-talent clown I once had envisioned.
Among moments of auto-tuneless a cappella harmony and legitimately impressive speed rapping, T-Pain won me over not just as an entertainer, but as a genuine musical artist.
I still don’t find his lyrics as anything more than skin deep, and I refuse to forgive him for not playing “Best Love Song,” but no longer do I consider him the epitome of what makes much of pop music so frustrating.
