DePaul University received a dose of rock, Friday, June 1, as headliners Portugal. The Man and Chi-town native Lupe Fiasco took the stage during FEST 2012.

While I only caught the tail-end of Portugal. The Man’s set with the hit song “Sleep Forever,” many students took to Twitter to rave about the indie-rock band that was lesser-known to a lot of the DePaul community before their standout performance.

Some students didn’t have any idea who the band was before Friday (myself included), but were pleased with the DePaul Activity Board’s decision to include them in the lineup.

“The description of this band is like Mumford and Sons. Well, I’m in,” said Michael Cousins.

“@Portugaltheman could have not been a better opener. #newfan #crowdsurfing,” tweeted Michelle Pantoja.

Promptly following Portugal. The Man, Fiasco came out to a crowd of screaming fans all pushing to get to the front.

With a full band and strong drum beats, Fiasco’s act felt more like a rock show than a rap/hip-hop concert. Unlike Lil’ Wayne’s failed attempt to turn rocker with his “Rebirth” album, Fiasco showed the crowd a rock star side that was on par with his signature superstar swag.

Lupe had the crowd in a fiasco playing hit songs from “The Cool” and his highly political “Lasers” album, including “Daydreamin” and “Words I Never Said.”

“@LupeFiasco #FEST2012 performance was like no other…representing Chicago to the fullest,” tweeted Keith Simpson.

After the sun went down, the real fun started and Fiasco lived up to his album’s namesake with a laser light show illuminating across the black night sky.

He ended with old-school hits like “Superstar” and “Kick, Push,” saving the crowd favorite “The Show Goes On” to rev everyone up for their post-FEST fun.

The overall rock vibe and knockout performances made FEST 2012 arguably one of the best DePaul events to date.

Andy Recillas tweeted, “@LupeFiasco, you, the liberation band and #PortugalTheMan will go down as the best #FEST2012 performance ever. #Gogogadgetflow.”
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