Hoodie Allen’s “Party with your Friends Tour” stopped at Roseland Ballroom in New York City on 11/29, and it was easily the best concert I have ever seen. This concert was a sold out event months beforehand, and it came as no surprise—he even had to add a second concert date the day after to compensate for the high demand.
Mod Sun opened for Hoodie with the song “Stoner Girl” and dancing to their music in the crowd was a blast. About two hours after the doors opened, Hoodie came on with his first song, “I Am Not Robot” which was nothing less than amazing. Hoodie did a very good job of combining his older songs from his albums “Pep Rally,” “Leap Year” and “Crewcuts” along with his newer ones “All American” and “Americoustic.” Some personal favorites of mine included, “The Chase Is On,” “Long Night,” “Hey Now” and “James Franco.” His final three songs featured “Eighteen Cool,” “No Faith in Brooklyn” and finally, his most famous, “No Interruption.” Although I was able to hold a pretty solid spot in the audience toward the front of the crowd, I really appreciated it when Hoodie switched the stage by changing the back of the audience into the front of the audience for a few songs. It really shows how much he cares about his fans and that he wants everyone to feel like they have front row seats. Additionally, since Hoodie Allen is not super famous yet, he seemed overwhelmingly happy and excited that the audience knew all of the songs and lyrics from both his old and new albums.
Hoodie Allen also did an excellent job of connecting with his audience. During the concert, there were a lot of interactive features, such as having the audience rap with him, and having streamers, confetti, and even money, falling from the ceiling. During his song “Cake Boy” he even dressed up like a chef and threw sheet cakes into the audience! The lighting effects were also very cool, and they changed colors constantly as Hoodie jumped around the stage. At one point, clear, illuminated beach balls even fell from the ceiling for the audience to throw around the crowd.
Although this concert was completely amazing, I just had two complaints. One being the fact that the general admission floor standing space was so crowded that it was pretty hard to breathe, and you also get pushed around pretty often. However, this is the price you pay for general admission, and the ability to be close up to the stage. My only other issue was that occasionally, the background music to Hoodie’s songs was so loud that you could barely hear him rapping.
Despite this, the general experience of Hoodie Allen’s awesomeness outweighed the small inconveniences at the concert. At the end of the show, some people started to leave, but Hoodie came back on with his crew and had a little surprise for the audience. Dubstep music came on and the crew had cold water bottles with holes in them that they sprayed into the audience—a godsend after the crowd had been disgustingly hot for the past three hours.
All in all, Hoodie Allen’s tour was incredible, and I would recommend seeing him on his next tour for anyone who loves hip-hop or rap music. Even if it isn’t your favorite type of music, the concert is still a blast. If you are interested in his music, only his two newest albums are featured on iTunes, the others are on YouTube. This “Party with your Friends” tour was undoubtedly a fabulous party.