Last time Lil Wayne played New Orleans, it was a low-rent affair when his career was in a shaky place. He was weeks from prison and had early versions of his poorly received rock album, Rebirth, filtering out by mistake. That night, he didn’t speak of his then-upcoming incarceration, but last night he had a three-tiered stage armed with smoke and fire cannons that served as a home base for his band, a stage for his dancers and a video screen. He emerged from a trap door in the stage as a pre-taped voice announced that the prisoner was no longer in custody. Then, with typical humor, he opened with “I’m Going In” (“I’m going to find out where you livin’ / kill you in the kitchen”). That wit has marked Lil Wayne as something different from rank and file emcees (such as opener Rick Ross, who was everything Lil Wayne wasn’t—obvious and clichéd for starters).
The show largely followed the script of Lil Wayne shows from recent years—the biggest songs from Tha Carter III in the first half—and a mix of backing by DJ 4-5 and by his hard rock band on a setlist that covers the whole of his career. His posse filtered in throughout the show, some to stronger effect than others. Mack Maine played a smaller role than he has in the past, but early in the set, his appearance onstage with Weezy during “Got Money” was received by the crowd like the reunion of Lennon and McCartney. Similarly, Birdman was greeted as a conquering hero when he came out late in the show for “Fire Flame”—just as he is each time he shares the stage with Lil Wayne.
At some point, Weezy always starts bringing out members of the Young Money roster, which typically kills the momentum. It threatened to do so last night with Lil Twist’s forgettable “Love Affair” and Shanell, a female vocalist whose slightly psychedelic, Prince-like R&B gave way to a Vanity 6-ish sex bomb number, with Shanell shedding her gown for a leopard-print mini-dress and knee-high boots.
But then the stage cleared for a set by Young Money’s Nicki Minaj, who rose through the trap door wearing a pink Q-tip wig and a multi-colored body stocking, a corset and Uggs. She took Weezy’s lack of seriousness to a new level, performing almost cartoonishly with her dance team and capitalizing on the helium nature of her voice. The material from her Pink Friday album wasn’t always compelling, but she was. She worked in her track-stealing section of Kanye West’s “Monster,” and “Did It On ‘Em” had the sort of wit and inventiveness that make her mandatory listening. She also brought out the Hornets’ Chris Paul—in glasses, and looking slightly uncomfortable—to give him a lap dance during “Letting Go.”
Minaj was on the bill. Young Money member Drake wasn’t, but the New Orleans Arena erupted when he came onstage for high energy versions of “Miss Me” and “Forever.” Weezy spoke of how Drake’s calls and the letters from fans kept him going while in prison.
Unfortunately, Lil Wayne has rarely been known for his pacing, and instead of moving from there to a close, the show rambled. His inexplicable love affair with the electric guitar that never seems to be in the mix continues. He asked, “Who came here tonight to dance?” then played “Da Da Da” from Rebirth and stilled the audience, despite what seemed like the only forced energy onstage of the night.
A number of times in the night, he reminded the audience that Tha Carter IV will be on sale May 16. He closed with its first single, “6 Foot, 7 Foot,” which sounded great, but as the show stretched past two-and-a-half hours, people happy with what they’d seen already started filing out mid-song.
