{"id":6335,"date":"2019-11-25T10:35:13","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T15:35:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/?p=6335"},"modified":"2019-12-17T20:05:48","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T01:05:48","slug":"review-freddie-gibbs-big-night-live-11-20","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.bu.edu\/wtbu\/2019\/11\/25\/review-freddie-gibbs-big-night-live-11-20\/","title":{"rendered":"REVIEW: Freddie Gibbs @ Big Night Live 11\/20"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dariush Sosnowski<\/em><\/p>\n

Last Wednesday Freddie Gibbs conquered Boston\u2019s newest club, Big Night Live. In his run dubbed the Album of the Year Tour<\/em>, Freddie put on a dynamic show at the pace of a bullet train. He started slowly, but gained rhythm as the performance went on. By the end he had found his pocket and resonated with many fans in attendance.<\/p>\n

Big Night Live opened in October, and has come onto the scene as one of the nicest new venues in Boston. Located at the $1.1 billion Hub on Causeway Complex, it provides a modern concert venue and club all in one. With tables and 21+ sections surrounding a general admission floor, it didn\u2019t feel like a normal concert. By lowering the stage slightly, they created a movie theatre type perspective for the crowd. I\u2019ve seen it done before, and always appreciate the smaller details in live venue design. There\u2019s no doubt \u2018Gangsta Gibbs\u2019 was ready for his movie.<\/p>\n

Gibbs\u2019 setlist jumped from his solo albums Freddie<\/em> (2018) and Shadow of a Doubt<\/em> (2015) to both of his collaborations with Madlib: Pi\u00f1ata<\/em> (2014) and Bandana<\/em> (2019). For as energetic as he can be, \u201cFreestyle S**t\u201d was a pretty tame opener. However the energy picked up when he ran through \u201cCrime Pays\u201d and \u201cThuggin\u201d back to back. Freddie had some of the best crowd engagement I\u2019ve seen this year. Scolding his DJ, Ralph ESGN, for being on instagram during his performance left the whole crowd chuckling. It seems Gibbs really does care for his fans, and as an independent artist that\u2019s almost a requirement.<\/p>\n

Freddie continued to find his way through a few cuts from Pi\u00f1ata. \u201cDeeper\u201d provided the crowd with one of his more popular and well known songs. Of his entire setlist the crowd knew the words to \u201cDeeper\u201d the most. Freddie was slightly inebriated on stage, and it showed. Not something unexpected per say, but after admitted it on stage, the crowd erupted into cheers.<\/p>\n

The most notable thing about a Freddie Gibbs live performance is his unreal breathe control. Not only was he hitting every word and staying on top of the track, but he delivered a few a cappella verses. He finished the second verse of \u201cSituations\u201d by himself and didn\u2019t miss a beat. Inebriated or not, Freddie can straight up rap. On a basic level, he\u2019s got the type of skills you don\u2019t see present in hip hop today. His verses are difficult to spit on beat, let alone by your own pace acapella. His visual lyrics were on full display rapping \u201cTurned the arcade to a stampede \/ I was playin’ Pac-Man, Centipede \/ Put me on some sh*t I never should’ve seen \/ Robbin’, killin’, drug dealin’ in my genes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gibbs took a break by playing \u201cEverybody Loves the Sunshine\u201d by Roy Ayers, which segued nicely into his song \u201c2 Legit\u201d which contains the Ayers sample. On two occasions Gibbs let the guest feature play for the crowd as he rapped along. In the first instance he showed love to 03 Greedo, who is featured on his song \u201cDeath Row\u201d. Last year Greedo was sentenced to 20 years in prison and I\u2019m sure Freddie\u2019s support is needed now more than ever. The second time was during the climax of the concert, \u201cGiannis\u201d. Gibbs started and stopped his performance twice, expecting a louder reaction each time. By the last run the crowd was properly engaged and Freddie was excellent throughout. He let Anderson .Paak have his time and joined the crowd during the verse.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sure fans would\u2019ve been fine leaving it on such a high note, but Freddie had other plans. After exiting the stage he ran back to perform \u201cBfk\u201d possibly as a tribute to his older \u201cDay 1\u201d fans. Overall \u2018Gangsta Gibbs\u2019 brought the energy to a unique venue in Boston. The Album of the Year Tour is proving to be a massive success, and as an independent artist this only builds his image. If you have a chance to see Freddie Gibbs live, please do.<\/p>\n