HOLLA Day Bash

A not so packed out night at the Nassau Coliseum, surprisingly. But all who were at hand were in store for the last big concert of ’08. It was Angie Martinez presents the Holiday Bash. All concertgoers were in attendance for this hip-hop heavy show that packed with rap heavy weights along the likes of Ludacris, Young Jeezy and T.I. Though we weren’t in the South, the crowd was definitely ready to show some good old Long Island hospitality.

R&B sister-duo, Nina Sky was the openers. I can’t really say much about their performance because they weren’t on stage for very long. But I could appreciate them for being at this concert, very smart on their end since they are coming out with an album soon. As the sexy sisters hurried through their songs as if they had a strict time limit on stage it wasn’t till there last song that they attracted some attention from the crowd. It would have been dope to have brought up Rick Ross on that track, but “Curtain Call” had a few rocking for a least two or three minutes. Then they were gone.

Then came Jim Jones and his purple beanie hat and I highlight the hat because it seemed that was the only thing that caught my attention. Not that I’m a fashion stylist or any thing but I wouldn’t consider that trendsetting. Any way, his performance was utterly boring. The only time it seemed as if it was getting good I was wrong. He got some love when he brought out Dipset member Juelz Santana to perform the Ron Browz hit, “Pop Champagne,” and Kid Cudi to perform “Day and Night.” He even did a snippet of “Ballin,” which was more typical than exciting. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Jones but the performance was pretty bland and not intriguing to say the least.

But I guess it didn’t’ matter because we were all waiting for the South to take over. Ludacris took the stage and he came out spitting his hard lyrics that was really receptive from the crowd. He surged through his performance hit after hit. A mixture of songs from his older albums like “Move *itch,” “Southern Hospitality,” to “Stand Up.” He obviously played music from his most recent album, Theatre of the Mind, but it wasn’t appreciated that much from the crowd. I couldn’t tell if it was because he performed most of them to different beats or if the crowd failed to get familiar with his new material prior to the concert. If that was the case it’s unfortunate because it seemed that Ludacris put on a good performance and were trying to force the crowd to rock with him. For what it’s worth, I appreciated you coming to Long Island Luda.

Jeezy blessed the stage next, unfortunately I wasn’t able to see him come out I didn’t miss too much. Raspy voice and all, he came out and ripped it. Staying current with joints from his successful album, Recession. Jeezy was welcomed with open arms, as the real fans were in sync with him through each verse he belted out. Mr. 8732 truly brought the house down; though I admit I’m not a big fan of Jeezy his performance was riveting and exciting. The way he captivated the audience with his unique sound really shows why he’s so successful. I must say the most inspirational joint he did was “My President is Black,” that being the best part of his entire performance [PERIOD]. If there were people in the building that wasn’t sold on Jeezy, I think they were won over that night. I know I definitely was.

T.I.P was the final act, of course. It seemed like it was just a few days ago that I seen him live in Manhattan, so I thought I was in for a repeat. Not the case at all, he hit us with a slew of different bangers. I guess you have that luxury when you have hits for days. His energy was at a high level as he was all over the stage showing love to every section in the arena. He had the ladies open after going shirtless and throwing it in the crowd after all the towels he used to whip himself down. He didn’t forget the fellas though as he gave shout outs to all the guys in the crowd making sure he knew they were still rockin’ with him. I would l have to say I enjoyed his performance once again. He truly puts on a good show and gives the people their moneys worth. I must say after that performance there will be many to miss when he does leaves music scene. No worries T.I, we’ll be here waiting for your return.


DF