RIP Coolio. True story, my surf band the Untamed Youth opened up for Coolio once. Talk about a weird billing! It was for a college gig at the University of Missouri, sometime in the 1990s. It was supposed to be an outdoor show and they were expecting a crowd of several thousand people. Instead, it rained cats and dogs, and they put it inside the Missouri theater downtown. Most people assumed it had been canceled, so only about 150 people showed up—pretty much all white college kids. Coolio came out of the bus, onto the stage, to see 150 people in a theater that held about 1,000. Must have been really disappointing; he had the number 2 record on the charts at that time! He was riding high! I’m sure his account of the tale would be similar, only in that it was probably one of the weirdest gigs he ever played, too! Fifty-nine is way too young to die. Rest in peace, Mr. Coolio.
