Rumors of A-list opening acts, ridiculous preshow requests and the fate of intoxicated-and-willing freshmen women have hung over the Fairfield campus like the smoke drifting above the crowd in Alumni Hall during the Ludacris concert.
The doors opened at 6:30 Friday night, and students, who had been camping outside in hopes of obtaining a front-row spot, rushed in. I arrived at 7:30 p.m. to find a growing line out the door and a hot, smelly, chaotic scene within the stuffy confines of the gym.
A DJ entertained the crowd for some time before giving way to another DJ, who did nothing but increase the volume of the speakers and continue to agitate the already restless crowd.
For approximately 90 minutes, two of my roommates and I, all donning homemade T-shirts, were forced to deal with typical self-absorbed Fairfield meatheads – too afraid to throw a punch, but anxious to prove their manliness – who were pulling their overly made-up girlfriends toward the front. And, of course, there was also the handful of students who had drank enough to fill a swimming pool.
When it seemed like I couldn’t push any more to get closer to the stage, the opening DJ announced that they would “be ready” in 10 minutes.
Soon after the announcement, Luda spoke into a microphone and strut onto the stage with Lil’ Fate , a rapper from the DTP (Disturbing the Peace) record label.
Fashioning a pristine white T-shirt, a sparkling African pendant, a watch that required sunglasses to look at and earrings the size of mini disco balls, Ludacris opened the concert with an upbeat rap song from his early career.
One of the best lines of the entire concert came when Ludacris introduced his opening number.
After the first song, he spoke to the crowd and told everyone to put their “middle fingers up,” a gesture that would not likely have been approved by Fr. von Arx, had he been in attendance.
Ludacris delivered a powerful performance, which included hit songs such as “Money Maker,” “Stand Up,” “Area Codes,” “What’s Your Fantasy” and “Move Bitch.”
*Warning: links contain explicit lyrics.*
He also rapped several verses from songs such as “Damn!” and his ridiculous verse to the “I Get Money” beat, which drove the true Luda fans in the crowd wild.
Ludacris also used countless expletives throughout the show.
Once the lights came on and the rappers left the stage, I felt slightly shortchanged. I enjoyed the performance, but like a late-night snack from McDonald’s, I wanted something else as soon as it was finished.
Students seemed to enjoy the performance and appreciate the fact that such a big-name star was spitting verses inside Alumni Hall.
“It was awesome,” said Ludacris fan Mike Palombo ’10. “Luda was absolutely sick.”
Anne Greenough ’10 said she was not as impressed with the concert and did not even stick around for Ludacris to concluded his performance.
“I couldn’t understand what he was saying,” she said. “I didn’t know any of the songs in the beginning, and it was too hot in the gym to be comfortable.”
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