Stop Filming. Just Enjoy the Music...

In the past week I had the delight of seeing both Baby Keem and A$AP Rocky in concert. I saw Keem at the Rave/Eagles Club Ballroom in Milwaukee, and Flacko at the United Center in Chicago. Both shows were awesome, for different reasons. Seeing Keem perform songs from his most recent album, Ca$ino, was fantastic. Watching Rocky perform songs from both his latest album, DON’T BE DUMB, was cool, but if I’m being honest I was mostly there for his older music, of which he performed plenty. I’m not sure what I expected, but the venue sizes really played a major part in the disparity between the shows.

Let me clarify something: both shows were awesome. The most noticeable difference as an audience member was the crowds relative to the artists. At A$AP, my friend and I remarked on the significantly younger audience surrounding us. There was a healthy mix of ages, some millennials who likely found Flacko in high school and have listened to him ever since, but for the most part the audience was filled, and I mean filled, with teenagers. Not a big deal for me, it was just striking to see how many young people appreciated an artist I found on my own and have loved for years. At Keem’s show in MKE, most of the audience was much closer to my age. I was not surprised by this, since Keem is only 2 years older than me, and he’s only been in the game since I was about 17. That being said, he really blew up in 2021 after releasing the chart topping single Family Ties with his cousin, Kendrick Lamar, (yes, that Kendrick Lamar) followed by his Grammy nominated album The Melodic Blue. 

My friend Mason remarked to me once that he felt Baby Keem’s fan base felt a lot like a cult following, and honestly, he isn’t incorrect. At this point in their careers, Rocky is far more mainstream than Booman, and the crowd sizes certainly made that point clear. 

Before I get into the main point of this article, I want to express my appreciation for the actual shows, and what made them so much fun. 

Last Friday, I drove up to Milwaukee and stood in line for close to an hour to grab some merchandise for the Casino tour. (I’m actually wearing the hat right now.) The show was slated to start at 8:30, but considering rappers are notorious for starting shows late, I wasn’t too concerned. Then, my friends Carter, Thomas, and I, alongside our new friend Daniel whom we met in line, shuffled into the ballroom on the third floor of the Eagles Club, where a DJ was warming up the crowd. There wasn’t a chair in sight. Good. That meant one thing, and one thing only. We were here to RAGE. After the DJ finished up, Hykeem Carter took the stage at ~9:30, and the crowd went wild. Midway through the set, he signed some merchandise for fans near the front, then he silenced the crowd. I knew what was about to happen. Being able to open the mosh pit for Family Ties was a top 3 life experience for me. I was drenched in sweat already, but I didn’t care. Myself and another sweaty big guy started pushing people back until a significant space opened, and just before the horns began blaring, we chest bumped in a mutual sign of respect. Then, bodies slammed into bodies for two minutes straight. Electric. 

Two Phone Baby Keem wrapped up his set with No Blame, a heartbreaking song about his relationship with his mother, which also happens to be my favorite song on his most recent album. Unlike the rest of the show, he stood still, singing into the microphone, tears welling in his eyes. It was a striking show of maturity and emotional openness in a man so young. It really helped me appreciate his versatility as an artist even more than I already had. After a tight hour and fifteen minutes, Keem thanked the audience, and left the stage. All told, it was an excellent show, and well worth the surprisingly cheap $70 ticket.

Then, five days later, my friend Thomas and I geared up for round two. Going into it, we knew the performance of A$AP Rocky would be very different to that of Baby Keem. We had decided back in February, when we bought the tickets, that we’d be rocking sick outfits. It felt like the right call for a concert centered around a guy as creative and fashionable as A$AP Rocky. The venue was probably four times the size, and knowing Rocky, the show would be very elaborate. We were correct on all fronts. Like Booman, Flacko took his sweet time taking the stage. Or more accurately, he took his sweet time taking the 300 level of the UC. He began the set almost two hours after the slated start time, and boy was it a show. The helicopter that hung in the rafters, adjacent to the 6, count ‘em, 6 banners marking the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup wins, turned on a spotlight and pointed to 3 different entrances to the stands. The first 2 entrances had false Rockys, who were then taken away by members of the “Swat Team,” before Rakim Mayers dramatically entered the 300s level performing Trunks. Not a single person in the crowd expected that, and it really started the show off with a bang. Then, Rocky dramatically reenters the arena strapped to another prop helicopter, this time performing a song aptly named HELICOPTER. He was up there for around three songs, until it finally lowered to the stage. The production of this concert was insane. Pyrotechnics, extras, massive banners, and lights that must have cost thousands decorated the United Center on Wednesday night, and everything seemed fine tuned. Aside from a few mistakes on the UC’s behalf, the show went very smoothly, and I had a great time. Rapping every word (save for one) to Flacko’s verse on Yamborghini High, while probably two other people in section 110 knew the song, was an experience that paid for itself, despite the $200 ticket. 

So…why am I writing this article?

Because I’m disappointed. Not in the artists. Not in the production value of the shows. Not in myself or the friends I went to the concerts with. I’m disappointed in the crowds. Specifically, younger members of the audience. For instance, about ¾ into the show, A$AP asked his fans to take a moment of silence for his late friend and creative partner A$AP Yams, who sadly passed away in 2015. The crowd obliged, for all of 3 seconds, when a girls voice could be heard from the nosebleeds screaming: 

“I love you A$AP!” 

Sweetheart. He knows. That’s why you’re here. But Flacko just asked you a favor, to honor his friend with a moment of silence, and you broke it. This wasn’t about you, but you made it about you. Myself and many around me found it distasteful. 

But the main problem I found with both shows was broader. I went to those shows to rock out, sing my favorite songs, and see two of my favorite rappers. Those two gentlemen put every ounce of their creativity into creating albums that they want to share with the world, and the goddamn teenagers at their shows are just…standing there. Taking videos on their cell phones. 

I mean really? 

Is that what you paid lots of money for? To take some pictures before the show starts and stand there videoing the entire show? Come on man. Let’s put all the cards on the table. No one really cares that you went to a concert, unless they’re a fan of the artist or they went themselves. Speaking personally, I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve skipped past people posting videos to their Snapchat and Instagram stories of ENTIRE CONCERTS. Why are you even there? At that point you may as well stay home and find the video online after.

Think of it this way: You paid United States legal tender, just to watch the concert through your phone. Something you could have done from the comfort of your couch. 

Also, I’m not exempt from this rant. I will openly admit that I certainly took pictures and videos of the concerts. But only two of these videos were over a minute long, and one doesn’t even capture anything. For the most part, I just took short videos at Keem to remember which songs he played, since I knew the mosh pit would encapsulate most of my memory. At Rocky, I only took one video, which was for a friend since I know he loves (the song) L$D. I took the occasional picture, but I mostly just wanted to enjoy the show because I knew Flacko was putting on a major production. 

So…which audience had a worse cell phone problem? Unsurprisingly, it goes to the teenager filled audience of A$AP Rocky. Can I blame them? Not really. It was his first show in 6 years, and for most of these kids, it was probably their first ever rap concert, if not their first ever concert period. They don’t know the etiquette yet. So while I’m not upset or angered by the, let’s face it, children around me, I am disappointed. You guys are supposed to be the energy at these shows. You’re supposed to be free of shame, there to have a good time. So why is it that 80% of the younger audiences were watching these shows through their phone screens? It’s something I’ve never understood. You’re there to watch, not to record. That’s being done by professionals. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not here to tell you what you can and can’t do. That’s none of my business. If a song you like is playing, by all means take a brief video. But I am asking you, the reader, to consider this: If you’re going to a concert this summer, or this year, or ever – what are you there for? Are you there to see an artist you’ve listened to time and time again? To genuinely put a face to a name? Or are you there because you want other people to know you went? Are you there because you want to be seen as someone who was there? There’s no shame in saying yes to the last two questions, but if that is the case, I’d ask you why you care? Who are you trying to impress? And you know what? I think both Flacko and Booman would ask you the same questions. 

Despite the fact that they’ll never read this, I want to extend my thanks to both Baby Keem and A$AP Rocky for putting on such great shows. I’ve never been much of a concertgoer, (aside from rock n’ roll concerts, note that I’ve seen Bruce Springsteen in concert five times) but I think I’ll be saving money for concerts more in the future. You’ll never regret going to a concert, you’ll always regret skipping. 

That’s about all I have to say on this matter. I know I totally sound like the typical old man complaining about the youth, but I think if we can change the idea that concertgoers have to record every single moment of the show, the crowds can become more fun. But as Keem says on Dramatic Girl, “She has her vices, who am I to judge?” Thanks for reading.