Predicting concert attendance in Hawaii is like trying to predict the path of a hurricane. You generally have an idea what’s going to happen but there’s always that chance all predictions are thrown out the window. A concert scheduled for July 3rd, the eve of a national holiday should have guaranteed an above average turnout. Unfortunately less than one hundred people attended Grieves at The Republik, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
The lack of attendance should not be blamed on the lack of name recognition. Honolulu’s hip-hop knowledge is well above average. Grieves has been in the hip-hop game for over a decade. He’s consistently dropped quality releases, toured incessantly, and collaborated with other underground hip-hop artists such as Eligh, Cunninlynguists, Mr. Lif, and Rhymesayers label mate Atmosphere.
Whatever the reason it did not seem to affect Grieves or his DJ, Pants. The Seattle based rapper stepped on stage to as much noise as one hundred people can make. The fans that decided to show up were well versed in the material and sang along to the rapper as he glided across the stage. Grieves could have easily sank to defeat due to the low turnout but he seemed to rise to the occasion, interacting with the fans throughout the set. The lyricist’s fast flow of plainspoken POV storytelling style kept the audience enraptured. Highlights included “Let The Devil In,” “Man Down,” and “Sunny Side Of Hell.”
The thousand or so people whom were camped out across the street saving their picnic space for the holiday missed out. Grieves and DJ Pants lit up The Republik. Hopefully they’ll return to the Islands to a larger audience!
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