Coolio at the Deli Zone review (Aug. 30)
By Marissa Malouff, For the Camera
Posted: 08/31/2009 10:38:00 AM MDT
Coolio
Where: The ZONE, which is the Deli Zone in Longmont with a newly-renovated stage area. The ZONE hosts local shows and open blues nights regularly.
Audience: Longmont loves Coolio. The venue sold all of its 150 tickets last Tuesday. Denver-dwelling Coolio fan Tom McPherson munched on a "Gangstar" sub while waiting through Longmont's STR.
Coolio's nine-song set was a mix of less-than-impressive new songs and mangled versions of old songs. "Fantastic Voyage", began with Coolio pretending as if he was driving a car and ended with him pretending he was crashing one. It was at least entertaining, while the rest of the set left a lot to be desired.
Coolio introduced "Let's Get Stupid" with "My name is Coolio and I am a recovering alcoholic and drug addict". It included the chorus of "Let's Get Stupid and Retarded" (yes, just like the Black Eyed Peas Song) and had absolutely silly lyrics about Grey Goose and drugs.
"Your Boyfriend" included nonsensical rapping from Coolio and a rapper in his posse. His posse seemed to do a majority of the work through out the show, and certainly did most of the work on this track.
The set ended with "an old-school trance", as he put it, of "Get up Get Down" and of course, "Gangsta's Paradise ". The live rendition of the "Dangerous Minds" classic was at times unrecognizable. Instead of having someone sing the chorus, they just played the recorded version and had a saxophone play the hook.
Most of his set, excluding his classics, seemed as if he interchangeably used typical rap lingo and wrote the most formulaic rap songs he could write. His energy was high, maybe because the audience loved him so much, however, no amount of energy could make up for the fact that he was hard to hear and the other rappers in his crew did most of the actual rapping.
Highlights: Coolio's stage banter. He called the audience "alcoholic [four-syllable expletives]" during a strange Michael Jackson tribute. He pretended to get shot at before "Gangsta's Paradise" -- and left between the verses. He had a strange bit where he asked the audience for tacos, Hennessy and gas money. He rapped that there "ain't no party like a Longmont part 'cause a Longmont party don't stop". Well put, sir.
Reminded me of: Nothing I've ever experienced. Hearing that Coolio was playing at a Deli Zone in Longmont was shocking. Coolio selling out a Deli Zone, telling the audience they are alcoholics, and pretending to be shot at during "Gangsta's Paradise" was unbelievable.
