Despite chaos, Hobo Johnson concert earns an A-
By Griffin Parrett
Friday, Nov. 15 was a day of concerts, as there were a handful of shows to go to in the Cleveland area. The Wolstein Center had A Day To Remember, I Prevail, Beartooth and Can’t Swim. A show that I was originally supposed to go to. The show had a stacked lineup and for those who were there most likely enjoyed.
However, by a very fortunate series of event I was able to attend the Hobo Johnson show at the House of Blues downtown.
The Hobo Johnson tour also had a stacked lineup which included Nate Curry, The Philharmonik, Mom Jeans and the headliner, Hobo Johnson.
Nate Curry, a rap artist from Sacramento, California opened up the night with high energy and lyrical flows that were smooth to the ear. For an opener, he was very well-appreciated and definitely a perfect fit for this multi-genre show.
Directly after Nate Curry came The Philharmonik. The Philharmonik is an RnB singer who was originally from Cleveland, but left many years ago to pursue his dreams of music in California as well.
I talked with him a bit before and after the show. He told me that he was very happy to be home and to perform his music in front of fans that were from this area.
As he performed, the crowd instinctively took out their phones to record his set. Later on, they also took out their phones to show light on the artist during one of his slower, more heartfelt songs.
After the show, I talked to him about this, and he said that he has never seen anything like this on any of the other shows he has performed.
“I am very appreciative of Cleveland and the fans that I have,” he said. “This was one of the best shows I’ve done in a while.”
After a small set break, Mom Jeans (MJ) came on. I was in the pit for this part of the show. The crowd was mixed with both MJ fans as well as Hobo fans. This is the part of the show that got a little weird. MJ fans, including myself, tend to get a little rowdy and mosh. We kept the energy very high for MJ, but some of the Hobo fans were not appreciative of this. The Hobo fans ended up pushing back and eventually even trying to choke me out for touching them during the show.
This is the only negative part of the show in my opinion.
Soon after, all of the MJ fans left the pit to respectively give the Hobo fans their spot back in the crowd. Hobo came on after a short set break, and the crowd was absolutely hyped up for him.
Hobo Johnson is a great artist and person. He performed both new and old stuff such as “Peach Scones,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “I Want a Dog.” During his set, he takes time to check and see if the crowd is OK, if anyone needs water, or even to take time to talk to a fan for a quick second. Truly, you do not see that much anymore from an artist.
The only reason I got tickets to the show is because I ran into him on East 4th street, and he put me on a guest list for the show because I did not have a ticket. So again, besides the fact that the crowd for MJ was bad (or not appreciative of moshing), I still personally appreciate Hobo Johnson and what he does for his fans.
This show itself was solid. If you ever have the chance to see him. please do!
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