Nelly at Saint Louis University Nov. 8! The man from the `Lou’ was going to perform at the Simon Rec Center, and it was going to be a night to remember.

There is not a student at this school that isn’t familiar with Nellyand the St. Lunatics. It could not have been a more perfect set up. Students were pumped, tickets were getting bought and in-the-closet Nelly fans were breaking out their do-rags and polishing up their “bling bling.” It was an event that was a long time coming.

We could have waited longer.

Thursday night came and went, and all I can remember was waiting for Nelly, walking around talking to friends about waiting for Nelly, going to get several drinks of water, waiting for Nelly, seeing drunk students get forcibly tossed out of the gym by a flashlight-armed Department of Public Safety officers, and waiting for Nelly.

Finally he arrived at 10 p.m., an hour-and-a-half later than he was supposed to come on stage.

After a whirlwind performance, pulling out all of the stops to have his St. Lunatics and a guy in a Phantom of the Opera mask dancing around the stage (I think he was their pet) play every song on Nelly’s Country Grammar and walk off the stage in a blaze of glory, 40 minutes later! I could have heard the same thing on his CD and wouldn’t have had to wait as long between tracks.

Sure, it was cool to hear “E-I-E-I” and “Batter Up.” “#1” was a pretty neat song, and it was nifty that they graced the crowd with “Country Grammar,” although they only performed half of the song.

I am sure the audience could help them remember the lines in the parking lot, at the same time they try to earn their money.

When he sang “Ride Wit Me,” I really think he meant it, because he was making a break for the bus. Actually, the show was more like trying to sing over a recording, rather than a performance. It was kind of like a bad version of “Say What Karaoke,” except you really couldn’t hear what the St. Lunatics said.

Honestly, the CD is much better and Nelly is a good rapper, but he belongs in a studio and not a gymnasium full of college students who actually expect a concert, but that is just a thought.

Oh yeah, one of the Jacksons played that night too Latoya wasn’t that good. Wait a minute. she didn’t go to SLU, did she?

Toya wasn’t much better I think if Student Activities Board had tried for Tito or Jermaine they could have entertained the crowd with “ABC’ for about two hours while we were waiting for Nelly. Seriously though, Toya has some talent, but she needs to dig deeper than her four songs and keep her dancers from making her show look like amateur hour at the Chippendales.

We didn’t pay $15 to watch girls pour water on a guy. Toya does have a beautiful voice, and she showed promise singing “I Will Always Love You,” a capella.

But she needs to stay away from the R&B scene because they just want to remake her “I Do” song. But that is just a thought.

D.J. Canine warmed the crowd up for about a half an hour with some popular rap hits, with a little disc jockeying “flava.” It would have been more productive if the crowd had sat and watched the stage crew construct the set, but that is just a thought.

So, when Nelly comes around with a new CD and SLU wants to bring him in concert, come to the show about three hours late, walk toward the door, sell back your ticket and go buy the CD instead.