Yelawolf put his country grammar on full blast last night at the Bluebird on the first stop of his two day tour through Colorado (Yelawolf's due tonight at the Fox Theatre in Boulder). The Alabama MC stalked onto the stage amid deep-blue lighting and tons of smoke. The crowd, already warmed up by two-time DMC-winning DJ Craze, was prepared to go nuts, and as soon as Yelawolf let loose, the place absolutely erupted.
Yelawolf is a straight-up spitter, and right off the bat, he launched into rhymes so dizzying, it took a second to grasp which track he was performing. Those familiar with his Trunk Muzik project had no problem flailing along with his frantic movements.
Spewing water on the crowd at one point, Yelawolf kept the energy at a ten the entire time. By the time he got to "I Wish," the track featuring Raekwon, the noise was deafening, and a super-sized mosh pit formed in the crowd. After a brief scuffle that had one guy getting carried out, the organized chaos commenced as Yela roared through the single "Trunk Muzik."
A diverse crowd packed the floor of the Bluebird, from hip-hop heads cloaked in hoodies to backpack-rocking college students to one guy with the Confederate Flag. All were like one with the MC as he rocked "Pop the Trunk" and the masses added an extra country edge to the shouted lines "All this blood is spilled, enough to make a penguin chilled."
More Yelawolf: Yelawolf: A Day in the Life on Warped Tour
Every single moment of Yela's set was high-energy -- even the moments when he rocked a verse a cappella, which he did often. The rightfully chosen new single, "Hard White," is boisterous, loud, and perfect for a live setting. Everyone in attendance loved Yelawolf's antics, and by the end of the show, the rapper was soaked with sweat, pants sagging low and his fist pumping in the air like a champion.
Earlier in the evening, Atlanta country boy Rittz performed tracks from his mixtape "White Jesus" with his blond beard thick and waving. The audience seemed to know a lot of his tunes and didn't need much prodding to participate on such joints as "High 5." Rittz performed a song with hilarious lyrics about "not being shit" before apologizing to the ladies with a wink and a smile and going on with the show.
Personal Bias: Men from the South win all day! Especially those who rap. Random Detail: Rittz apparently loves whiskey and coke, as he kept yelling for drinks to the stage throughout his set. By the Way: DJ Craze is the real fucking deal. His dubstep set got the party started right.
