“Police pull me over they aint got nothin to say, ah” A Boogie sang as the crowd jumped up and down like the inflatable men in front of car dealerships. The night of Saturday, Oct. 9, was a night I will never forget. Any concert lover from Oswego High School who wasn’t in attendance at the A Boogie & C Dot Honcho concert definitely missed out.
Doors for the C Dot Honcho and A Boogie concert, two rising hip-hop artists, opened at 6:30 p.m., with the show starting approximately at 7:30 p.m. Everyone was extremely eager and impatient while waiting for C Dot Honcho and A Boogie to take the stage at The Forge in Joliet, Ill.
The openers, whom I do not know the names of, performed for nearly 3 1/2 hours before the main acts came out. Not many people were hyped up during the opening acts because they were just OK, nothing special. It’s not that easy to party to music you don’t know the words to.
Chicago knew exactly what it were saving its energy up for: the long, highly anticipated performance of the two rising rappers.
C Dot hit the stage shortly after the opening acts were finished, and a roar of screams and cheers flared across the enclosed arena, which holds a capacity of 950 people. Honcho began his set with his song “So Long.” Just as the song’s introduction began to play, Honcho came out, and the crowd went wild. Everyone started cheering and jumping to the song, as if they have been waiting their entire lives for that moment. The beat was bumping so fast it had my adrenaline at a high, and my heart beat as fast as the song’s. You couldn’t even hear Honcho sing the chorus because everyone was singing along—every soul in the building knew the words..
Honcho knew exactly what to do to get the Chicago crowd moving. He encouraged fans to put their hands up, to jump and, of course, to sing along with him.
Honcho continued his set with his single “Anti.” Reaching the chorus, he began to spray a fire extinguisher at the audience, and they all went wild. Everyone had their phones out ready to record, in hopes of saving and cherishing this moment in which all their stress was released.
Seeing one of your favorite hip-hop artists do his thing on stage really helps you forget about everything else going on in your life. After his set, I had an adrenaline rush, and I was even more ready to continue jumping with A Boogie.
A Boogie didn’t take the stage until about 11:15 p.m. In that current moment, I was still recovering from Honcho, but I was even more excited knowing that A Boogie was still to come. Taking the stage, A Boogie started out with his oh-so-famous single, “Jungle,” slower-yet-upbeat song that caused everyone in the crowd to sing along and pull out their flashlights, creating a magical experience. This kind of enlightenment is exactly what brings people to a concert in the first place.
A Boogie went on to play songs like “Say A” and “Drowning,” keeping the crowd entertained throughout the entire night. He went from left to right on the stage throughout his performance, shaking the hands of his die-hard fans and giving them special attention. Even though some fans had been waiting for this moment for hours, A Boogie created an atmosphere that made it seem like the night was just getting started.
From the crowd, I could see his chains glistening in the spotlight, making him out to be a true star. Boogie’s set was truly an unreal experience that I thought I would never get to experience in my entire life.
This was officially my first concert, and after my experience at Honcho and A Boogie, I can’t wait to go to another one. A lot of my fellow friends went along, and there were plenty of people in the audience.
With all due respect, I love Honchos’ music, but he wasn’t my favorite live performer because of the fact that he basically just yelled his song lyrics into the microphone. On the other hand, A Boogie really left his mark on Joliet. Not once did he let his voice leave the microphone, and he kept the crowd excited and pleading for more throughout the entire night.
Overall, I truly enjoyed everything about my first concert, and I look forward to hopefully attending many more in the near future. My friends and I are already planning on buying tickets for the G Herbo concert, also taking place at The Forge. It’s events like these that bring plenty of high school students around the world to one place for a very satisfying and pleasant time.
