Miley Cyrus and Snoop Dogg are the saving grace at Wango Tango '08 in Irvine
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Typically, I write these reviews right after the concert so the action is still fresh and because I've already nailed down a definitive opinion of whatever show I just watched.
Not so with this year's KIIS-FM/102.7 fest that played Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine on Saturday night. Staring at this screen on Sunday morning, I still can't map out a clean way to sum up this hot mess.
While I may not be the hippest kid on the block, I'm still pretty good about keeping track of up-and-coming acts and their singles, but who is Flo Rida and how'd he get everyone to go so "low, low, low"? What about Cherish, Shwayze or Prima J?
In what dark recesses did all of these subpar flavors-of-the-moment find record deals and why are they cluttering up what could have been a stellar night for the trendy Top 40 radio station of choice in these parts?
Sure, in booking these acts for the station's biggest concert of the year, KIIS-FM is doing its job by catering to its fan base with performances by current chart climbers, but a quick scan of the KIIS' playlist reveals the Wango that should have been, but never was.
Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown doing "No Air" would have been nice. Lil' Wayne tearing through "Lollipop" sounds fun to me. What about Ray-J even? His "Sexy Can I" currently lies at the top of the list and I'm sure he could have scheduled in a set between filming sessions with Kim Kardashian.
Last year's spread featured Omarion, Gym Class Heroes, Robin Thicke, Elliott Yamin and Baby Bash as the lesser known acts. But c'mon, most casual Top 40 listeners including myself knew who these guys were!
Adding insult to the injury of having to sit through this catastrophe was the way in which these sets were scattered throughout the evening as mood-killers between a better-than-expected (opening) run by Jonas Brothers, a barnburner by Miley Cyrus and an incendiary Snoop Dogg set.
To be nice (I've got to balance this bad juju somehow), of the no-names Flo Rida seemed poised to make the biggest impact in this market. The rapper, touting the physique of LL Cool J and the sound of Lil' Jon, had the crowd in a frenzy with the Timbaland-produced "Elevator" and crunked-out "Low."
If KIIS-FM did one thing right in this night of egregious oversights, it was putting the kid-friendly stuff on early with the mature stuff playing as the night went on.
Things started off with Jonas Brothers, who two years ago were unknowns at Bamboozle Left in Pomona. Now things have changed the show's hosts couldn't even say "Jonas Brothers" without inciting mass hysteria.
With their pop-punk-for-the-Disney-set, the Jonas Brothers proved that they could handle a crowd of more than 15,000 people with ease, which they'll do on their own at Verizon on July 12. The tie-sporting trio of dreamy teen idols (vocalist-guitarist Nick is dating Miley Cyrus, OMG!) executed the whole arms waving/singalong thing well with "Hold On," "Goodnight and Goodbye" and "S.O.S."
They even covered A-Ha's "Take on Me" which gave the parents in the crowd something to sing along to.
Two forgettable acts later, Miley Cyrus picked up where the brothers Jonas left off. Having never listened to Miss Cyrus intently before, initial reactions are: Woah, this girl can sing! Some of these tunes are a lot harder than I thought they'd be! Way to go Nick Jonas!
She had the moves, she had the crowd and when she addressed her fans (especially about that Vanity Fair incident: "We're all changing and thank you for helping me while I go through that") she seemed genuine.
When the final notes of her megahit "See You Again" came through the speakers, a good number of parents and kids exited the venue as the rating went from PG-13 to R.
Danity Kane also impressed with its too-short three-song set maybe these girls only have three hits to go off of right now. Diddy knows how to pick 'em as "Show Stopper" and "Damaged" had me grooving in my seat.
Snoop Dogg (in a New Orleans Hornets jersey, say what?!) and Miami rapper Pitbull (who played last year before Enrique Iglesias, but topped the lineup this year) closed out the uneven fest with equally uneven performances.
The D-O-double-G did it right, whipping out hit after hit including "Gin & Juice," "Beautiful" and "Sensual Seduction." If you've seen one Snoop set, then you've seen them all, minus the newer stuff the prolific rapper has no doubt released since the last time you saw him, but it's all good, all different and always great.
I'm learning now with my third Pitbull encounter in as many years that this Miami rapper's downfall is repeat run-ins. Nothing changes same suit, same swagger, same sexed-up songs. How this puppy played top dog to Snoop is a total question mark.
Oh well, KIIS. Better luck next year.
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