SOULQUARIUS 2017. How The Observatory missed their mark… Yet again.
It’s been 3 days since Soulquarious 2017. The OC Observatory created a festival to highlight Hip-Hop and R&B that has kept us grooving since the beginning of the new millennium. With a lineup including The Ying Yang Twins, R.Kelly, Mya, Ameriie, Pretty Ricky, Llyod, Willow Smith, Erykah Badu and so many more, it was hard not to be excited for what looked to be one of the best lineups of the year. But once again The Observatory’s “ingenious” team missed the mark. If you have seen my Day N Night Fest review then you know how I feel about The Observatory and their disorganization. Honestly, I would be lying to you if I said I expected anything less than chaos from them. So here are the 10 things you and I probably missed for Soulquarius 2017.
10. If you followed the brightly colored and ill-functioningSoulquarius app, you might have missed The Dream, DMX, Ja Rule & Ashanti, Erykah Badu, and Brandy.
I’m waiting for a comp ticket @observatoryoc. Sometime around 5pm everything seemed to fall apart with organization and no one updated that damn App to let concert goers know that the stages were running behind. So much for all of us planning where to go and who to see.
9. Parking. If you parked at the $8 dollar shuttle lot you probably heard that they were going to start towing if you didn’t get your car out by 1AM. If you happened to be in the line for the regular lot, you probably sat in the line waiting for 25+ minutes before being redirected somewhere else.
8. They put 2 Merchandise booths directly across from each other in the most populated traffic area causing every traffic problem possible. Who’s the genius behind that idea?
Personal Rant: One of the merch options was a metal canteen. You really gave drunk people a metal canteen to carry around. I know we all want to reduce, reuse and recycle but as a person who got injured by one of these things, please don’t do that again.
Now for the good stuff… sort of
7. STOP SLEEPING ON BJ THE CHICAGO KID.
6. The YING YANG TWINS WAS LIT. Too bad 50% of us couldn’t see them because there were 8 ticket handlers and 4 people doing bag check for 2 lines of 1000+ ticket holders.
5. R.Kelly.
4.5. The dance line at Kelis’s performance.
4. Kelis featuring her violet hair and that violet jumpsuit. So much beauty.
3. “SHE’S 5′2 FINE TOO BUT I WANT YOU!!!!”
2. Ameriie and Mya. 2 artist that don’t get enough credit for changing the game.
1. THE RETURN OF PRETTY RIDDY RIDDY RICK-AY. Hands down, the best performance, I got to see at Soulquarius. I need a tour. It’s been 15 years since I seen them (I was 8, don’t judge me.) and you would think that the songs came out yesterday with the way they moved the crowd.
In conclusion, Soulquarius could have been better, if the planning team actually “planned.” It doesn’t make it any better that they sent out a poor excuse for an apology note to everyone that went to the show. To be honest, people deserve to have some type of reimbursement because everything that happened could have been prevented. Hopefully they get it together.
P.S.- Dear, The event planing and production team, if you need some recommendations on how to improve, let me know. You guys need new suggestions.
