My daughter went to the “Monster Jam” concert the other night at the Banknorth Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. I don’t know if it was so named because it took place during Halloween week, but, if so, it was appropriate. She had been excited in the weeks leading up to the show at the prospect of seeing the monster stars that were slated to perform. One such creature, however, disappointed her and her fellow fans.
While 20,000-plus fans chanted “We want Weezy,” Lil Wayne (“Weezy”) sat on his tour bus, indulging his monster ego, “throwing a hissy fit,” according to the Boston Herald, whining to his manager that he didn’t want to go onstage at the show.
“People were begging and pleading with him to go on,” we are told. “But he was [angry] and possibly drunk. He kept complaining that ‘Boston is dissin’ my people.’ It was totally bizarre. Kind of surreal.”
Most horror stories are.
So, how did they finally coax the creature out his cage to perform for the thousands of fans who had come to see him? They didn’t. Weezy took the sleazy way out – he just stayed hidden in the tour bus, nursing his wounds from the perceived assault to his ego.
What was the terrible offense that Beantown had thrust upon poor Weezy? What was the mammoth diss for which my daughter and her fellow fans had to pay?
Well, according to the Boston Herald, Weezy and his peeps had actually arrived early for the performance. This had been taken as a good sign by the show’s organizers because Weezy’s history of showing up at concerts was less than stellar. He even did a sound check. Then he went back to his van to chill.
And, apparently, maybe drink a little bit.
When it came time to perform, though, Weezy and company only made it to approximately 20 feet from the stage. With his band and DJ in full swing, Weezy and his 12-person crew decided to “bounce” after a member of his posse set off the metal detectors.
“He was aware of what was required,” said an insider. “His security people had done a walk-through earlier in day. But when the metal detector went off, he just lost it and stormed out.”
For an hour and 15 minutes, concert promoters and Weezy’s manager tried to persuade him to go back in and perform. Finally, he agreed to give the security checkpoint another go at it.
Same result.
The Boston police on duty attempted to placate the raging rapper and offered to take him and his peeps into a private room to be checked with a wand. But they refused and left, dissed and dejected.
According to the Herald, everybody else had gone through the metal detector without a problem, including fellow rappers Jay-Z and Lebron James. However, the Weezster apparently took the need to pass the metal detector as a personal insult.
Word is, Jay-Z was none too happy with his name-rhyming co-headliner’s refusal. Neither was Weezy’s band – who had to vamp for nearly a half-hour during the backstage drama. The audience, who had to sit and wait through the dismantling of the stage and subsequent setup for Jay-Z were not terribly thrilled either.
The Boston promoters did not find the stunt particularly endearing either. They were so upset with Weezy’s non-performance that they have threatened not to pay him and he was disinvited to the after-party at Rumor.
Big deal…my daughter wasn’t invited either, and she made it through the metal detector…!
Samuel’s take:
In law, there is a theory called “assumption of the risk”, which should be pretty self-explanatory. Should someone decide to sue Weezy for his refusal, it may be a defense he should think about. After all, It was, of course, not the first time he has found himself appearance-challenged. For example, on Sunday night, he stiffed 8,000 fans in Rochester, N.Y., because he reportedly was dissatisfied with the sound system. Last month, ol’ Weez missed the Fashion Rocks show – again over the metal detector issue.
Maybe it was because of the “in your face” rapper attitude. Perhaps it was because he felt naked without having…something metal…available at all times. Who knows…maybe he is unduly sensitive about one of his peeps having a metal plate in his head.
Either way, there was no way that security was going to throw caution, and liability should there be a weapon setting the metal detector off, to the wind.
Actually, Weezy got off easy. Can you imagine yourself going into an event in which you had to pass through a metal detector…and fail right in front of the police? Do you think you would simply be allowed to curse, claim to be dissed and leave? Do you think they might want to look a little deeper into the situation to see what was setting off the metal detector?
Metal detectors are generally not set up because they look pretty. They are not there simply because somebody inside has an allergy to metal. They are used for safety. Weapons are typically metal. Police often take that seriously…rap superstar or not.
Do not get the wrong idea from this adventure of Weezy Goes To The Monster Jam…Kinda Sort Of. If you typically walk around with a bazooka in your pocket…leave it home if you are going to encounter a metal detector. Chances are if you keep setting the alarm off…you might lose more than your metal. Your liberty might be next to go.
Whatever happened to those nice polite rappers of yesteryear who did not have these problems…like that nice boy, Eminem?
Tomorrow, we culminate our Halloween-themed week with a glimpse to the past and then to the present…has our witch-hunt mentality really changed all that much since the days of Cotton Mather and peeps?
The full article of this story can be found at
http://news.bostonherald.com/track/inside_track/view/2008_10_29_Lil_Wayne_a_no-show/srvc=home&position=also