By Janine Bower | May 21, 2012 MTVK
The air was thick with the roaring din of restless concert goers. Venue packed tight, the atmosphere was littered with camera flashes and intermittent screams. Long red glow sticks whipped through the air as all waited in anticipation of the Verizon-sponsored tour to begin.
Sliding onto the stage with raw energy and punchlines galore was comedian Joey Guila. Alongside his personal DJ, Guila kept the crowd laughing with his side-splitting Asian language impressions and beat-boxing bit. Los Angeles native and vixen Viennie V followed as the first musical act to take the stage, kicking off the night with a few upbeat tracks and a medley of some of today’s hits. Her energetic backup dancers helped her pump up the crowd with a special performance to “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO. (Mad props to the singer for doing the shuffle in high heels.)
Next up was freeform rapper and f-bomb friendly DumbFounDead. His relaxed devil-may-care essence and numerous nods to the concert’s sponsor barely skimmed the surface of his performance. All jokes aside, his performance of “Are We There Yet” showed just how lyrical he can get. In dedication to his mother and sister, he spit: “Now I was only three when she brought me to the States/ My sister only one, crossing borders wasn’t safe/ What she did was very brave, I think about it everyday/ From Argentina to Mexico, and finally L.A.” But right before you write-off the serious side of DumbFounDead, he did also perform that aptly-titled infamous ode to his ex-girlfriend called, “Bitch,” which totally kicked the room’s ass into high gear. To close his set, he invited rappers Decipher, Manifest and Lyricks, among others to help him shake the house down, thanks to some earth-shattering bass and head-bopping delivery.
Then finally, the moment the crowd had been waiting and screeching their lungs out for. Jay Park bust onto the stage, taking the helm like the pro that he is. Capping the night with a bang despite, Jay, who was performing on just three hours of sleep, glided across the stage, popping and locking left and right. He even picked up the pace later in the show when he performed with Art of Movement b-boys Junior and Tony, only to stop and take a breather in order to share an anecdote about an exploded caterpillar.
The triple threat was at it again soon enough, performing songs from his latest FreshA!R-Breathe!T mixtape. His scintillating renditions of “Do What We Do” and “Be With Me 2Night” were only upstaged by his last song “Body2Body.” His best performance of the night? “You Know How We Do.” And as if his newfound bravado captured on FreshA!R-Breathe!T wasn’t dope enough, even Jay’s stage presence has evolved. Without batting an eye, Jay said alongside comrade DumbFounDead, “If she got a fat ass go and send her to my room,” a move that was simply unbelievably cool.
Jay Park and the Verizon APAHM Tour are off to San Francisco and then to L.A. as they say goodbye to the East Coast set of dates. Meeting him on the West Coast will be Filipino-American YouTube sensation AJ Rafael, and the five girl Pan-Asian pop group, Blush. Here’s hoping the West Coast can handle the heat that Jay and theVerizon APAHM Tour is bringing.
Hello To Myself 