On Sunday September 25th, the Verizon Wireless Music Center in Noblesville, Indiana hosted one the top R&B singers in the country, Chris Brown. The concert began at 7 p.m. and his opening acts included Tyga who was featured in Brown’s album F.A.M.E., Kelly Rowland who recently began rebuilding her singing career after being apart of Destiny’s Child who broke up in 2006, and finally T-Pain who is undoubtedly known for this auto tuned rapping.
Tyga hit the stage first, playing only a few songs to get the crowd roaring. His name was stamped in big letters on the stage, while his DJ mixed from atop the “T.” His performance was short and after a minor transition Kelly Rowland hit the stage with a sparkling leotard and a black suit jacket. She touched on a few Destiny’s Child songs, which sparked the audience with a little sentimentality, testing everyone’s memory as she held the microphone out to the audience frequently to hear everyone sing the lyrics back to her. Her all guy dance group wore little clothing and she made sure to sway her long locks frequently and flash her well known “Kelly” smile. The crowd anxiously awaited the song “Motivation”, her most recent hit single that features Lil Wayne, which she rocked as her finale song.
T-Pain was the final opening act, whom in my opinion owned the night. He brought character to the stage by speaking to the crowd, throwing around a few jokes, dancing as if nobody was watching, and mixing music that nobody ever expected. He played anything from “All I do is Win” by DJ Khaled, “Low” by Flo Rida, “ Blame It” by Jamie Foxx, and pieces of his own creations from Thr33 Ringz and RevolveR. He creatively entertained the fans and brought out his auto-tuned tricks for all to hear. He satisfied the crowd even more by playing his recent singles “Best Love Song” and “Booty Work” to wrap up his time on stage. He ended the show with a thank you and a reiteration that he wants to always give the crowd what they want and was glad that he got to join the party.
Through all of the opening acts the rain was only a drizzle, however the hopes of a light rain quickly disappeared during the transition period before Brown came onto the stage. The drizzle turned into a downpour that continued the duration of the show changing the atmosphere into a pretty wet and wild event, as the crowd anxiously waited for the singer to emerge from backstage.
Chris Brown hit the stage with a army inspired get up and continued through his performance with several striping episodes which sent the women to scream wildly for him. Brown broke out his silky smooth melodies during all of the love songs but contributed a large effort to his dancing throughout the night. The stage consisted of two levels that allowed Brown to tower above his dancers and participate in light effects. He played songs from various albums including “My Last” by Big Sean, “Wall to Wall”, “All Back” (a heartfelt tribute to his mistakes with Rihanna), “Next to You”, “Paper, Scissors, Rock”, and “Wet the Bed” which sent the fans overboard with his bump and grind movements. He as expected performed “Look At Me Now” and “Yeah 3X” for I would assume almost all 10,850 audience members knew by heart. The show consisted of several video montages and the viewing of bits and pieces of Brown’s music videos on large screens. He left the crowd with an electrifying last song “Beautiful People” where everyone was dressed in suits that lit up, very similar to those in the movie “Tron.” The synchronized multi colored lasers dancing across the stage made the song a complete hit as the effects left the crowd in awe.
As the show came to a close many of the fans on the lawn bolted to their cars, and only about 200 dedicated people waited for Brown to leave the stage. By the end of the two-hour performance everyone was completely drenched as if they’d been dunked in a pool numerous times. Those who were dressed in skirts and sandals were shaking and completely miserable, so many decided to leave early. The parking lot was a mud fest and deep puddles lined the walkway as you traveled back to your cars. It was a fiasco getting out as mud sprayed other cars and lines didn’t budge. The area emptied around midnight as the rain continued; it just goes to show that many will go to far lengths for the love of music.