Takeaways From Attending A Chingy Concert As An Adult

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The lights are dim as sweaty bodies aggressively bump into each other on the sticky floor. The anticipation hangs heavy in the air, a compliment to the scent of Axe body spray and hints of cheap alcohol that have combined themselves to assault your nose. All of a sudden the music starts. You recognize the notes that unmistakably lead to Freek-A-Leek, a song you forgot how much you love. You and your bff sing along and dance as if you aren’t the whitest girls in the world, but you’re having too much fun to care.

Sounds like the scene of a middle school dance in the gym, but really this was my reality Friday night when I attended a concert featuring Chingy, the Ying Yang Twins, and Petey Pablo. Fourteen-year-old me was fangirling so hard.

I first heard about this concert back in March, and despite the preparation of the early 2000s inspired outfit complete with giant hoop earrings and the plan to chug Mad Dog 20/20 to pregame, I still could not have predicted exactly how things would go once we arrived at the theater.

The crowd was weird.

When we purchased tickets to this soon to be sold-out show, I expected the audience to mainly consist of late 20s women looking to relive their youth by experiencing a concert their mother’s wouldn’t let them attend in their teenage years. Wrong.

There were couples everywhere and someone even brought their kid. I’m talking an 8 year old who just sat on a railing by his parents as he watched dudes rap about hoes all night. Because what are babysitters.

There were also a bunch of college kids who hardly knew how to act let alone the fact that they were in the presence of legends. I had the strong urge to ask them what they were doing there since they were in single digits when these hits first came out, and as you can imagine, this did wonders to reinforce how old my friend and I are.

But really, I might be too old for this.

My friend and I had purchased general admission tickets for the show since all VIP got you was balcony level and we wanted the chance to be as close to the stage aka greatness as possible. Although not front row, we had a spot staked out and managed to get drinks and return to the location. But midway through the Ying Yang Twins I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard the phrase “I think maybe we should not do general admission anymore…” And what’s worse is that I agreed. Maybe when you’re pushing 30 it’s time to not deal with the riff raff who will gladly elbow you out of their way as they rush to the stage.

Following the concert, we were ready to hit the dance floor. Since we were out-of-towners, we asked some college age looking girl where people go to participate in such activities. She gave us a couple options with the preface of “It depends on what kind of guy you’re looking for.” Being the non-sober adults that we were, this triggered a laughing fit that accompanied us on our jaunt to the bar.

You see, I haven’t been on the dude hunt in quite some time and my perpetually single bff is too enthusiastically ready to be married and wishes she was popping out kids like none other. Our conversation was a back and forth of phrases like; “The kind of guy who has a 401k!”, “The kind of guy who is ready to get married yesterday!”, and “The kind of guy who has a steady job and health insurance!” Thank you, girl who thought we wanted a hookup, but I think our age is showing.

The guys have still got it.

All joking aside, the show was legit. These guys may be 15 years older, but the songs sounded exactly as we all remember them. Salt Shaker, Holidae In, Right Thurr, Say I Yi Yi, Raise Up. You name it, they did it.

Sure, Petey Pablo is rocking a dad bod now, but he had the crowd going the entire time. Chingy has aged very well and has upgraded his style a bit, but he’s still the same old guy who gushes about how he loves women of every shape and size. The Ying Yang Twins were a force to reckoned with especially after Kaine removed his shirt.

No curfew, no teenage hormones, and legal drinking? I’ll gladly go through this time warp again and again. 10 of 10 would recommend..

Image via Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com

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Whatever Lola Wants

Outward appearance of being a hot mess with just enough Type A personality to not be a complete disappointment to my parents. Almost as good at avoiding commitment as I am at holding my liquor.

• @LauraMeinert