And I mean we’re throwing it way back. Think late 1990s and early 2000s radio hits from your favorites like Chingy, Fat Joe, and Lil Jon. And then throw some margaritas and flights of tacos in the mix and you’ve got yourself a unique (and touring!) festival.
Admittedly, this is absolutely not something I would have ever bought a ticket for, let alone a VIP ticket, but friendship means compromise, so that’s how I found myself at the Lake Erie Crushers stadium on the second to last Saturday in September. Thankfully, the weather was beautiful, parking was close, and this place was very, very nice! As a VIP ticket holder like myself, I had access to literally any area at the place, and even though I saw plenty of VIP lanyards, I never felt like I was fighting for a decent view.
Aside from musical acts throughout the day, there was also plenty of alcohol everywhere. I sampled the mango margarita and it was delicious. VIPs were also treated to a flight of tacos from select food vendors on site, so I got a decent mix before heading back out later and paying for some supreme birria tacos. Chef’s kiss. There were also several merchandise vendors, but there were also other, extremely random events going on throughout the day. There was a classic car show out front, lucha libre wrestling matches in between sets, and a chihuahua pageant. The latter two things were hilariously entertaining.
For the most part, the group I went with hung back in the shade of the bleachers for a good majority of the day, but it was announced that when it was time for Ginuwine to hit the stage, we would be migrating as close as possible to it. And that is what we did. Invariably, once that set was over, more people move out of the way, so we were even closer for Fat Joe, and then we were so close to Lil Jon that I could make out his grills. That doesn’t seem possible. For all of these acts I mainly just knew the hits that made their way to the radio, so perhaps the magic was lost on me. But it was fun seeing my friends freak out about every song that started playing.
If I had to pick a favorite for the day, the trophy probably goes to Chingy. Firstly, he looks like he hasn’t aged a day. But he also actually sang to all of his songs, had some reall good crowd engagement, and I actually knew more of his songs than I was giving myself credit for! Twista was a close second as far as performances go. Paul Wall was rather disappointing, and so was the fact that Timbaland dropped! But all in all it was a fun experience outside of my norm.
