Big Bad Concert Rankings: 190-181

I’m going to gloss over a lot of the details from these next few shows. They were all perfectly fine in their own right, albeit with some hiccups. Do you ever go to a show and think, “this is exactly what I thought it was going to be,” but that something was like eating a Jimmy Johns sandwich? Well, these are the excitingly adequate shows.

190 - Lil Wayne

Speaking of unpleasant fans, a guy put his blunt out in my (gloved) hand. Why is this higher than a country show? Lil Wayne only did 45 minutes, so it was a quick and simple night.

189 - Johnnyswim

They sounded fine. It was a Monday. I bought their CD. Everything went as expected.

188 - Hellyeah

They sounded metal. It was a Wednesday. They didn’t have CDs. Everything went as expected.

187 - Flora Cash

YouTube viral sensations still can’t save me from dozing off during a song. They played longer than Manchester Orchestra, so I was awake for more than I was asleep.

186 - X Ambassadors

You know who else were renegades? The fans who didn’t buy tickets.

185 - Morgan Wallen

There is one good thing about Morgan Wallen that I like, and that’s his cover of the Jason Isbell song “Cover Me Up.” The phone flashes came out and everyone really appreciated the moment less than two days after we rang in the new year. I did not care for his other songs, general appearance, array of fans, or the marketing crew that gave out cups before his show.

184 - Queensryche [John 5, Eve to Adam]

One of the rare shows I brought my dad to, the other being Ron White. It was a solid rock performance by a hodgepodge band that’s trying to take over the spotlight from the departed lead singer. The voice works, but the stage presence did not. There’s something off-putting about calling a group of 50, 60 and sometimes 70-year olds a bunch of motherfuckers. You also got a sense that the lead singer would care more about “look what my voice can do” over staying on rhythm.

183 - Daughtry

I have worked two Daughtry shows. His Grand Rapids show falls here because his sound hasn’t changed from the first go round a decade earlier. It’s still a good sound, though.

182 - Chevelle

“Oh, I didn’t know that was Chevelle!” can become “Oh, I guess that’s also Chevelle,” over an hour-and-a-half. The difference between the two statements is how much passion the crowd had from notable song No. 1 to the encore.

181 - Trippie Redd

Between the crypt/graveyard scene and the giant red heart and smoke, you would assume this took place on Halloween and not early February. But that’s all Trippie Redd was, smoke and mirrors. He hardly rapped and only sang a few bars when he needed to. It was more performance art than rap. He should thank his set designer because without the theatrics, this is a bottom five show.