Common coming to town

By Jennifer Kakio
Ka La editor
On Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, Grammy award winning rapper/actor Common, also known as Common Sense, is coming to Neal Blaisdell concert hall for a one night only performance. A local band called The Deadbeats will be opening for the mega superstar, but that’s just the start. Common is bringing his crew to the stage: Big Mox, Creed Chameleon, K-Luv, and Tassho Pearce.
The last time Common came to Hawaii was back in 2007 at Pipeline Café, and I was fortunate enough to watch his amazing show. His performance and ability to spit rhymes was fresh and entertaining. I haven’t danced that hard since then.
Now that Common is coming back to town, it should be interesting to see how this performance is going to be, considering that his last album, Universal Mind Control, was released back in 2008. Since then, Common has been concentrating on his acting career, rather than his music.
I am curious to see his performance will be just as good or not better at the Blaisdell. Unlike his 2007 performance, which was in a nightclub, where you were free to dance. Don’t get me wrong: Common is a great performer, but his songs were meant to make you move. They are not songs, like Michael Buble, where you can sit and appreciate it.
Being at the Blaisdell peaked my curiosity to see how this is really going to be. A slight draw back to some, like broke college student like myself, will be the ticket prices, which range from $40 to $150.
Either way, I’ll be there in my dancing shoes, singing my heart out to “The Light.”