Coming of age in the 2000s, it was hard to not have been at least peripherally familiar with Nelly’s music, if not jamming to his songs on the radio or in the club on a regular basis. Once a huge household name in hip-hop music, Grammy award winner Nelly performed at a much smaller venue than one might expect last night in Ottawa: the 700-seat Algonquin Commons Theatre. Unsurprisingly, the show was sold out.
Nelly performs at Algonquin Commons Theatre Photo Kevin Daly, and the event was presented by the Algonquin Students’ Association
Nelly packed a lot into his short one hour set, including old favorites such as “Ride Wit Me,” “Dilemma,” “Hot In Herre,” and “Air Force Ones”. Nelly dedicated the nostalgic tunes from his first two albums, Country Grammar (2000) and Nellyville (2002), to those who had been “riding with Nelly since day one”. I cheered enthusiastically as one of those people, until he went on to thank us for having been “f***in’ with Nelly for 18 years.” The realization of just how much time has passed (and just how old I am getting) hit home hard. I am sure the feeling was not unique to me, as most of the crowd seemed to be under 30. Nelly also showcased some unfamiliar new tunes that will presumably be included in a new album entitled All Work, No Play. I concluded this by the sheer amount of times Nelly yelled, “All Work!” and instructed the audience to respond with, “No Play!” Despite the promo tour of the same name, Nelly’s new album is seemingly hush hush, with no concrete information officially
announced.
Nelly performs at Algonquin Commons Theatre Photo Kevin Daly, and the event was presented by the Algonquin Students’ Association
Some may be glad to hear that a lot has changed in 18 years – particularly, Nelly has gotten rid of both the sweatband and the band-aid. He looked quite slick on stage in a plain black t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a few gold chains and sunglasses. He had an unidentified partner performing at his side, and a producer mixing on stage behind them, hyping the crowd with periodic air horn blasts. Nelly’s songs flowed together seamlessly, allowing him to fit more in and keep energy levels high. The producer also occasionally turned down the instrumentals to allow Nelly to rap and sing unaccompanied. Hearing Nelly’s voice in its raw, unadulterated form was a pleasant surprise.
The performance itself was minimal, but Nelly’s infectious smile and silly little dance moves were enough to fuel the crowd, who remained on their feet and sang along throughout the entire set. Many audience members had their phones in the air, a product of the generation in which Nelly reached the height of his fame. Nelly and his mysterious sidekick took phones several times from the crowd to video from the stage, before returning them to their ecstatic owners.
Finishing with “Just A Dream” (2010), Nelly went about ten minutes past the announced end-time of the show, 10:00pm. After he left the stage, most of the crowd stuck around hoping for an encore to no avail. In Nelly’s defense, this is likely because he was slated to do a meet and greet for VIP ticket holders immediately after the show. Still, the crowd stuck around chanting for one more song until security started escorting people out.
Haviah Mighty performs at Algonquin Commons Theatre Photo Kevin Daly, and the event was presented by the Algonquin Students’ Association
As for Nelly’s openers, they interestingly consisted of several fresh hip-hop artists, including Broken Superheroes, Diff Breed, Amari, and Haviah Mighty. They were showcased in an almost talent show manner, performing only a few songs each in short 5-10 minute sets. The crowd was supportive and energetic through the somewhat disjointed showcase, and the performers were enthusiastic… or “hype,” as the kids would call it.
