Every time I go to a concert in a large venue I tell myself "this is the last time". When I saw the lineup for the 2007 Rock the Bells tour I decided I had to go. Wu-Tang, Cypress Hill, Rakim, Public Enemy, a reunited Rage Against the Machine, Pharoahe Monch all being artists I have never been able to see live for various reasons. Technically, at Lollapalooza '93 I heard Rage from the parking lot but traffic and weather kept me from witnessing their set at the festival that year. Also Mos, Kweli, and Erykah Badu were scheduled to appear so I figured it was a can't miss.
Wow, what a complete error in judgement. Let me start with the positives. Wu-Tang was much better than expected. Played mostly old joints, tons of energy especially Meth. Of course Ghostface was a no-show as usual which pissed me off. For no live band accompaniment they were overall satisfying. Cypress Hill was on a whole other level. Maybe it was the second-hand influence but they were amazing live. Muggs' beats are still great, the live percussion adds to it significantly. The crowd was really moving. I would pay to see another Cypress show for sure. Then there was Public Enemy. Hands down the best performers of the day. Live band, as much energy from Chuck as from Flav. Scott Ian from Anthrax came out and perfomed "Bring the Noise" with them. If I could make one complaint it would be that the set was too short because I could have listened to them all day. Well, that and the fact that I had to listen to Professor Griff occasionally rant about some b.s. in between songs.
Now for the complaints. The concert was on Randall's island, a small chunk of land sandwiched between where Manhattan, the Bronx, and Queens all meet. The only way on and off the island was to drive (nightmare), ferry (not possible from Manhattan), or special express bus. We went with the bus option and waited in a line for the bus from Harlem for an hour and a half. Could have been worse you say? It was raining. And you weren't allowed to bring umbrellas.
In the meantime, the grounds of the concert were mostly dirt, which therefore meant mud. Wading through the mud with the smell from the Port-o-johns was reminiscent of the Bog of Eternal Stench (Labyrinth reference). Everyone just threw their trash everywhere so it was like being in a landfill. People were complete assholes (of course). I stuffed my face before the concert so I wouldn't have to eat there but my companion did not follow my advice. Thus, we waited in line for 2 HOURS for food. At the end of the line she paid $11 for cheese fries and a hamburger patty (they were out of buns and condiments). I watched the entire PE set and most of the Wu set from the line on smaller-than-expected screens.
Other than that, Erykah flaked and never showed up, Mos was late so Kweli performed solo, then Mos came out later, then they did a few songs together. Their show did not translate well in an outdoor festival but the rain was falling the hardest at that point so maybe that was part of it. I only caught the very end of Monch's set because of the 3 hour commute to the concert although he did have a live band with him and did "The Life" with Styles P on stage as well. We only stayed for 4 Rage songs because tales of getting back to Manhattan from the Saturday show sounded like nightmares and we were not willing to undergo any more disasters that day. They sounded good though. I heard "People of the Sun", "Bulls on Parade", "Guerilla Radio", and "Bombtrack". Once they played "Bombtrack" I was okay with leaving as I had heard one song off the first album which I still maintain stands out in their otherwise excellent catalogue.
Rock the Bells will be my last outdoor music festival. This time I really mean it.
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