Fiona Greaney ’29
Chief Opinions Editor
Who’s four hours late, shirtless, and won’t stop talking about an afterparty at the lot? Flo Rida. Who’s more corny than that line? Also Flo Rida.
It was too good to be true. Small Massachusetts liberal arts colleges come a dime a dozen. One of the trade-offs of being at a school like this is that our school concerts will never book big names like Fetty Wap at Binghamton or Flo Rida at UPenn. Except Flo Rida did come to Holy Cross. Somehow, Holy Cross booked one of the biggest names of the late 2000s. Why would a name as big as Flo Rida agree to play here in the first place? After Friday night, we finally have our answer.
Saul Rivera ’29 said “the line to get in was longer than Universal Studios,” with most students not entering Freshman Field until 8:00 or 8:30 p.m. when it was supposed to start at 7:00 p.m. That was fine at first, since nothing had happened. Student Opener Alpine gave a stellar performance, but afterwards, the night stalled. Pre-recorded music you could hear at Hockey House for free played over the speakers for hours. The same songs were played multiple times, reminding students of just how long they’d been standing on Freshman Field. Students began to leave by the masses and whatever excitement had built up for the show evaporated. Alpine came out for a second, unplanned set, but by 11:30 p.m., most people had left.
But wait! Flo Rida finally walked out at 12:20 a.m., nearly four and a half hours after he was scheduled to perform. Will Hick ‘27 called it “incredibly disrespectful that he didn’t show up until 12:20,” adding that he wanted a refund since he had been trying to go to bed at that hour. When Flo Rida did appear, the set itself didn’t do much to make up for the wait. He paused awkwardly between songs, threw out lines like “Welcome to Holy Cross” that didn’t land the way he intended, and threw roses and bills with his face on them into the crowd. Flo also started to throw pieces of his own clothing, like his shirt, shoes, and a Holy Cross sweatshirt into the audience. There is nothing The Eggplant could write that would be funnier than what actually happened Friday night.
Flo repeatedly asked the crowd “where’s the after party at? The lot?” He once followed it up with “if I’m going to the lot, I need to know where are all my freshmen at.” That after party comment did not sit well with the Holy Cross community. Gabriel Saucedo ’30 asked the obvious question: “Why was Flo Rida asking where the after party is? Isn’t he like 50 or something?” A parent said “the fact that my freshman daughter was present while this man was saying things like that is not okay.” This line might read as stage talk, if not for multiple students alleging Flo Rida followed and direct-messaged them on Instagram after the show. Pictures of direct messages with students were posted to Flo Rida’s Instagram account. Addy Woodbury ’29 said “it seems pretty manipulative, as if following students and messaging them will make them forget how bad (Flo Rida’s) show was.”
It is also worth asking how a booking like this got approved in the first place. A member of the Campus Activity Board pointed out that “Gigi Perez couldn’t perform because she said ‘I don’t believe in God,’ so how did he get approved considering songs like ‘Shots’ and ‘Whistle’?” If a lyric about faith is enough to bar an artist from playing, then I find it shocking that Flo’s act was cleared as aligning with Jesuit values.
Part of the reason why Flo took a gig at a school this size may lie in his recent choices. He performed at the “Freedom 250” event while also endorsing a Democratic candidate, which hasn’t done him favors with either audience. A college concert may be the kind of low-risk publicity his team needs right now (apologies). That would also help to explain the Instagram stories about playing at Holy Cross, and, more troublingly, the direct messages some students say they’ve received.
The silver lining of “Flop Rida” was Alpine. They nailed the original performance, came back out for an unplanned set, and kept the crowd going. When asked what they thought of the night, Robert Mbrice ’29 said “Alpine carried” and Hick agreed that “Alpine kicked ass.” Alpine may have been the only part of the night that actually delivered on what was promised.
In the end, $30, six hours on Freshman Field, and a lost night of sleep bought us a headliner who couldn’t be bothered to show up on time. Next time, maybe let Alpine headline.
Copy edited by Caroline Gammon
Featured image courtesy of Billboard
Leave a Reply