Saturday, October 10th was a day to be pumped about because Drexel University brought two of the biggest names in the hip-hop industry to the Fall Fest stage. Wiz Khalifa and Lil Wayne were the headlining acts at Fall Fest 2015, hosted by the Dragon Concert Series and the Campus Activities Board. The gates opened at 6:30 p.m. to welcome around 500 students who crowded together in Parking Lot F. Everyone was super excited to attend the concert and see what these two artists had in store for the night’s performance.
Flashing my VIP wristband to the guard, I ran towards the stage at 6:30 p.m. There were already a few rows of people lined up, waiting for the show to begin. Because of my height, I could not see at all, so my friend who was in the front row extended her arm to pull me through and I stayed in the front for the entire show.
Around 6:45 p.m. two talented young women treated the crowd to a few raps and melodic covers. Then, Stwo and Dr. Carmack hyped up the audience by spinning their mixes and mashups of today’s pop hits. Despite the massive amount of talent by the opening acts, they dragged on for three hours. We all were impatient and annoyed and at one point everyone chanted “We want Wiz!”
At 9:30 p.m., Wiz Khalifa finally appeared on stage, decked out in white and everyone went absolutely wild. He performed one of his older hits, “Roll Up”, as the crowd sang along in unison. Who knew music could bring everyone together? When he performed “Black and Yellow” right after, the crowd got even louder. Wiz interacted with the crowd extremely well, singing to both sides of the stage and making eye contact with us all. At one point, I turned around to get a funny selfie with the rapper and he smiled straight at the camera!
Wiz continued to keep the crowd on their feet with hits including “Burn Slow”, “See You Again”, “We Dem Boyz”, “Work Hard Play Hard” and “Young, Wild & Free”. I personally thought Khalifa’s performance was amazing, and even after he finished he had me feeling ready to party.
There was a bit of an intermission before Lil Wayne graced the stage and in true Weezy fashion, he appeared at 10:30 p.m.—a little later than expected. Wiz generated lots of noise from the audience, but Wayne produced nearly double the enthusiasm. I stayed for his performance of “A Milli” and then decided to leave because I felt overwhelmed by the people squishing me as I tried to enjoy the show. Lil Wayne’s set was significantly shorter and I thought he appeared average, nothing too exciting.
Was the experience worth it? Yes and no. General admission tickets went for $15 while VIP sold for $50. I purchased a VIP ticket, thinking I would have more privileges at the show, but there was no difference at all between VIP and general admission. I could have paid $15 and been in the exact same spot in the front row. I believe it was worth the three-hour wait to see the headliners, but it was definitely exhausting (and painful) to stand in the crowd. People pushed up against each other, had no respect, and got into fights just to see the show.
Overall, my first Fall Fest experience was one for the books. Drexel has a decent track record of bringing popular acts to the stage, and we’re left wondering who will perform next year! Any guesses, Dragons?