BY TER STAFF
Last night, PARTYNEXTDOOR took on a ton of damage control and saved the day during the Chicago stop of the Summer’s Over Tour at the Aragon Ballroom. Although the concert began as planned, with R&B newcomers THEY., putting on a great opening performance, anxiety began to rush through the crowd as Jeremih still hadn’t hit the stage for his co-headlining and homecoming performance. Originally scheduled to perform at 7:50 PM, Jeremih didn’t greet his fans until about two hours later, and only for a 3-song performance before the sound crew cut off his music. It was PARTYNEXTDOOR however, who gave the Chicago fans everything they wanted and more.
The performances for the night were on a tight schedule from the very beginning. With a weekday all ages show, it was crucial for everything to go as planned. But as time began to pass, as the crowd anticipated Jeremih’s set, fans began to worry. Rumors began to circulate that Jeremih was late for his set, a rumor that was later confirmed to fans by the venue, which caused many fans who came for Jeremih to leave the show even before PND hit the stage. Then, minutes before PND’s scheduled set time of 9:00 PM, the production crew tore Jeremih’s setlist from centerstage, crumpled it into a ball and tossed it away like yesterday’s news. Production quickly began setting up for PARTYNEXTDOOR.
Fortunately for PARTYNEXTDOOR’s fans, PND would soon hit the stage, and he definitely delivered. While the DJ killed time, even playing some songs twice duo to the extended wait time, fans chanted “PARTY-NEXT-DOOR” throughout the historic venue. Although Chicago’s is Jeremih’s hometown, you would not have guessed it last night, as the majority of the crowd seemed to be there for PND and were not shy about vocalizing their displeasure for Jeremih’s tardiness. And whether you were there for PND or Jeremih, you had to have been impressed by PARTYNEXTDOOR’s performance. His vocals were near perfect, his light show throughout his set was more than entertaining, and his set alone was worth the price of admission. PND certainly made up for Jeremih’s absence.
But fortunately for the Jeremih fans who decided to stick around, the ‘Birthday Sex’ singer finally hit the stage, but it didn’t go over too well. Jeremih only performed three tracks before his sound was cut off by the sound crew. As this happened, Jeremih announced “they some haters, f*ck ya’ll” and stormed off stage. In his defense, we don’t know every detail of what happened, but it should come as no surprised that Jeremih would be late for his performance. Last night marked the third time this year that Jeremih was late for his own performance in his hometown, also being late for his sets at AAHH! Fest and Pitchfork, both festivals on strict time schedules. So with last night’s show needing to be on schedule to avoid fines and penalties, the powers in charge likely had no choice but to skip Jeremih’s set and proceed to PARTYNEXTDOOR. And when Jeremih finally appeared in the middle of PND’s set, three songs was all that the sound crew would give him.
If you came as Jeremih’s biggest fan, you didn’t have the best night of your life last night and Jeremih, the Aragon Ballroom, or someone owes you a better explanation. But if you came for PND or in general to hear some great music, than you’re in great debt to PARTYNEXTDOOR for saving what could have been a completely disastrous night.
See our photo’s from last night’s performance below, and check out the remaining dates on the Summer’s Over Tour here.
Photos by Dan Garcia/The Early Registration
PartyNextDoor
The Early Registration 