Shwayze headlined for a small bar crowd at the Red Zone Wednesday, Nov. 5, with openers ranging from indie pop music acts to up-and-coming rap artists to the “feel good.” Despite its potential for a great set, the show fell short of expectations because the crow numbered 50 or less adventurous Badgers who spent a Wednesday seeing the well-established Malibu artist.
The real disappointment of the night was through no fault of the artists, as all the performers put on a good show. Rather, it was that so few students were able to see it.
The night began with Los Angeles-based Carlton, who describe themselves on their Facebook page as an alternative pop trio characterized by well-crafted pop songs with an energetic live show. It’s tough to put on an energetic show for such a small crowd. During the time in which the band opened, no more than 30 people had arrived. In fact, about half of that number was near the stage.
After a brief interlude in which DJ Villain played a few tracks, OG Swaggerdick took the stage. The performers all responded to the small crowd in different ways. Swaggerdick had some fun with the low-pressure environment. He split his time evenly performing on stage, walking around the back room of the Red Zone, joking with the audience and taking advantage of the lack of crowd participation. Crowd participation is inevitable when a performer starts table dancing and raps directly at the crowd. At one point Swaggerdick pulled an audience member on stage for a song and things got more interesting.
Cam Meekins went on next alongside Swaggerdick and played his recently recognized songs such as the track “Wiz Khalifa” and even an unreleased song. The small audience allowed him to play these tracks as a test run of sorts.
Finally Shwayze played with Carlton as the stage band and Nikko Gray sang background vocals. It didn’t take long for the rapper to find a bottle after the first song “Living it Up,” just in time to play mellow pop songs fans love such as “Drunk Off Your Love.” Similar feel-good moments came during “Sally Is,” “my girl,” “Corona and Lime” and “Buzzin.” Seeing the artist in such an intimate setting was an experience audience members were lucky to have.
Carlton was also able to show off their musicianship while playing for Shwayze, each member taking time for impressive solos throughout.
Although it was an unusual show, the performers were able to piece together a worthwhile night. A larger crowd would have resulted in a higher energy show, but the small crowd gave the acts the freedom to interact more with the audience, experiment with unreleased songs and drink through the whole set if they pleased – Shwayze certainly did. Unexpected, yes, but a positive experience nevertheless.
