Kid Cudi Concert Review

Man on the Moon Kid Cudi is an undeniably popular rapper. His venue for September 21 was DTE Energy Music Theatre. While normally a setting for singers like Kid Rock and Ke$ha, the audience was quite different for an unorthodox hip-hip artist. When walking in, the haze of cigarette and marijuana smoke acted like a wall that separated us from the outside world. I showed up too late to experience his opening acts. When I found myself at the top of the hill, looking down at the stage, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. The stage was covered with fog, behind an enormous white screen, and there was music playing while we waiting for Kid Cudi to make his entrance. Once the lights turned down, the crowd grew quiet in anticipation. Cudi began to talk to us from backstage, telling us his rules about the concert: no fighting, no throwing things on stage, etc. Although this ruined the mood a bit, everyone was still waiting for something amazing to happen. Cudi occasionally had to remind the audience of the rules, his fans nevertheless adored him when he eventually asked "Who smokes weed?" The answer, apparently, was everybody, at least judging by the shouts of approval and thick ribbons of smoke racing on the breeze.
All of the sudden, the curtain dropped to reveal the entrance to a "moon" cave that stretched up to at least 30 feet, with a backdrop of sparkling stars. The stage was littered with "moon rocks" and a few dozen lights beamed brightness from all sides on and around the stage. And Cudi himself embraced the setting with a muscular gray spacesuit with a bright glowing orb on his chest. (Iron Man imposture?)
When Kid Cudi emerged from his volcano-like set, the crowd at the DTE erupted in cheers. It was quite lavish, which was fitting given the musical ambitions Cudi displayed on this year's album "Indicud." As cool as his moon looked, it also created an isolating effect — particularly since Cudi was alone on stage much of the night. There was no