Kid Cudi Live @ Sweetlife Festival 2012 (VTT Photos)

all photos by Sean Dackermann

Performing as a headliner preceding Avicii at Maryland’s Sweetlife Festival a couple weeks back, Kid Cudi took the stage to much anticipation.  It was a great day thus far, yet the clouds were rolling in, sun was going down, and things were either about to get all the more awesome, or the hangover was coming early.

I had several convos throughout the day regarding Cudi and his history of live performances, with the Cleveland kid having developed somewhat of a reputation of unpredictability and volatility.  At the same time, proving that given the right situation and the right day, he puts on an amazing show. Also a popular topic was curiosity over the development of his live set – what role would Dot da Genius play? Would he be backed by a full band? Will he focus on WZRD material and this whole re-birthed attitude, or give fans a taste of the classics?

Fortunately for all, we got Cudder on a good day – he spoke a few times about playing multiple dates in MD over the past few years and loving it.  He was backed by a full band with Dot on the keys, and they were fantastic.  And his set list was diverse as anyone could ask for, playing some of his best from A Kid Named Cudi, both renditions of Man On The Moon, and naturally WZRD.  Not to mention, he was hilarious, keeping it humorous throughout the night, encouraging energy from the crowd, and not letting up a bit throughout his hr-long set.

See the rest of our pics at the jump from Cudi’s performance, and catch more coverage throughout the day here.