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Written by Alec Fatherree Saturday, 10 October 2009 10:22
Show Reviews
NEW ORLEANS | Music lovers lined up down the block outside Generations Hall's Metropolitan nightclub Thursday night for an exclusive free concert by rap-rock supergroup N.E.R.D.
Even with relatively little publicity the band, led by hip-hop producers and childhood friends Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo (better known as The Neptunes), managed to draw an impressive crowd to the posh club. Fans enjoyed free beers from show sponsor Heineken while DJ Digital warmed up the sound system with a wide-reaching hip-hop mix.
N.E.R.D. came into being after The Neptunes were already established as a hot music production team. The duo brought in Shay Haley, a high school friend, to play drums and add percussion to the group while Williams and Hugo played the melody instruments and Williams sang the lyrics.
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Williams has also recorded with myriad artists under his first name, Pharrell. A few of his collaborators include Gwen Stefani, Kanye West and Snoop Dogg after the band took a break in 2005.
N.E.R.D. returned to the scene in 2008 with a new album, “Seeing Sounds.” It rose to number 7 on the U.S. charts and pushed the band to write, record and perform more together.
As the crowd moved into one of the club's larger side rooms for the show proper, opening MC Mickey Factz paved the way for N.E.R.D's over the top performance with his own rapid-fire flows and uptempo beats.
Finally, N.E.R.D took the stage, opening their set with a bombastic new track urging partygoers to "Get the f*** up!" The band, including new female recruit Rhea, rocked their way through a short but satisfying selection of mostly newer material, including a number of brand-new songs from their upcoming album "Instant Gratification," due in 2010.
Pharrell Williams' mood and energy seemed infectious as he danced with audience members and belted out the lyrics to tracks like "Lapdance" and "Everyone Nose." While the set may have been brief, many of the fans crowding the stage seemed more than happy just to have had the chance to party with Williams and the rest of the band, for free at that.
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