9:20: The "Loooo-Peeey" chants have started.
9:22: The lights go dark. The guy standing behind us screams, "OHHHHH!" Some lights come on onstage and he screams, "OHHHH!" A guitar player starts in on a solo. "OHHHH!" The guitar player stops playing. "OHHHH!" Jesus Christ. Of all of the places to land in here, we end up next to an overeager screamer. Beautiful.
9:25: Just as an Asian guy (separate from the Stonewallers) was lighting up a blunt, HOB staff was walking through our area of the crowd. The HOB guy, being real cool about it, says, "You gotta get rid of that, buddy." The Asian guy responds, "Oh, sorry about that," then tosses it on the floor and steps on it. But as soon as the HOB guy wanders off he picks it back up and lights it again. Fuckin' Asian guys have been the highlight of the night so far.
9:26: Lupe is wearing a jacket not unlike Cap'n Crunch's. This should be a good show. Anytime we've ever seen someone dressed like someone on a cereal box, things have worked out well.
9:27: Cool. Hat-tip to Radiohead by Lupe.
9:34: He's doing "Hip-Hop Saved My Life." That's the song that he wrote about Slim Thug, in case you didn't know. Because of that, he will forever be Houston-affiliated. The place is nuts right now. Drake gets the same kind of treatment for his proper support of The H.