I'm Back with a Concert Review

I took some time off to do a few minor things like get married and get my new job going. Now that I have plenty of more important things I should be doing I thought I'd get back to posting.

This past Sunday was my first NYC concert unless you count the two outdoor ones from earlier this year. I'd prefer to forget one of them (Rock the Bells) and images of the headliner of the other still haunts my nightmares (LL Cool J). Anyway, the show was Common/Q-tip/Percee P/88 Keys. Here's how it went down.

88 Keys- Decent DJ, played some stuff off his new album which I thought wasn't bad. The rest of the crowd wasn't too into it but I think anyone that wrote a beat for the Black Star album gets an automatic pass in my book.

Percee P- On Stones Throw label so he gets Madlib beats. Even throwaway Madlib beats give me an eargasm. Still, his performance was pretty meh. No hypeman which I respect a whole lot but, to be honest, I think he maybe could have used one up there. Of course he did his part of Jurassic 5's "Day at the Races" which was cool. The guy is a well-above average lyricist but unfortunately his live act needs a lot of work.

Q-Tip- Straight up fucking awesome performance. Of course, Tribe is my favorite hip-hop group ever and will likely be for as long as I live. He did pretty much all the classics (Electric Relaxation, Check the Rhime, Scenario, Award Tour, etc.) He did stuff off "Amplified", a couple new joints. Everything was great and backed by a live band with DJ Scratch from EPMD as his DJ. I would have loved to see Busta or Phife up there but Phife is not doing well with his renal failure and dialysis and Busta was probably searching for a buffet (Christ, did anyone see his gut on VH1's HHH last Monday? Put down the chicken wings Trevor!) The only guest was Dres from Black Sheep when he and Tip did "The Choice is Yours". Interestingly, I think I've seen Dres perform that song with Q-Tip, De La, and Mos/Kweli but I've never been to a Black Sheep concert. Someone give that poor guy a record deal already. Anyway, Tip brought the house down.

Common- The typical Com show. He is always good live. I think what sets artists like Com and Q-Tip apart from so many other emcees is their ability to command a crowd and entertain without gimmicks or hype men. Com's band is awesome and he's had those guys like Omar and Kareem Riggins for years as well as DJ Dummy (Who thankfully retired that "It Takes Two" set he used to always do and now does an equally impressive one with Biggie's "Ten Crack Commandments".) It was definitely weird to see Common in a city other than Chicago. It was the same show just no discussion of home. The guest appearance of the night for Com was KRS-One (they likely hooked up from appearing together at HHH earlier that weekend.) While clearly the most unattractive man in hip-hop, KRS-One rules, BDP was the shit, and it was rad to hear him do "South Bronx" and "The Bridge is Over". Freestyle exchange between Com and KRS as well.

Overall great show by two of my top 5 emcees of all time. As a concluding thought I'd just like to say thanks to Common for doing Chi-city proud while Lupe continues to embarrass us! Get well Phife!

My "date" with Mr. Smith

Well, I decided to give the outdoor hip-hop festival another shot anyway because this time it was free. It was a show sponsored by Zune (read: Microsoft's MP3 player, therefore Microsoft). Zune's "Live at the BBQ" named, of course after the Main Source song which introduced the world to a man named Nasir Jones. You had to RSVP online early enough to get in but otherwise was free. They did this in LA and Chicago also where Common and Mos Def headlined, respectively. Anyway, despite other big names at those shows (UGK, Little Brother) the NYC lineup seemed a little less impressive. HOWEVER, the small "and special guests" at the bottom convinced me there would be more than what was listed.

What was listed? Joell Ortiz, Cham, MiMS ("this is why I'm hot" ugh), Clipse, Large Professor, Brand Nubian

I dig Brand Nubian and I figured Large Pro may have something to offer. Plus, the show was in Brooklyn and I hadn't been there yet so I figured it was reason enough to go, especially since it was free.

First of all, the area of Brooklyn I was in was ridiculously cool and nice and made me wish I lived there. Another thing about Brooklyn. The beautiful people of NYC apparently live here. Also, I saw a ton of people wearing shirts that just simply said "Brooklyn". People there are so proud of their borough (this will be relevant again later). It was a cool festival. Food, art, in a nice park on the water. You could play basketball or XBOX (not that I did any of these things). But very chill, people brought their kids.

I think I heard the performers shout "Where Brooklyn at?" or play the sample of Biggie saying it at least 60-70 times. People would go crazy. The first artist was Joell Ortiz. I'll save you the wikipedia search. He's a Puerto Rican rapper from Brooklyn signed to Dr. Dre's label. He was meh. Cham (reggae/dancehall artist) was a nice change of pace but was just okay. Thankfully MiMS was a no show.

Then it got good. Most of Boot Camp Clik showed up along with Special Ed and Masta Ace. It was a nice trip back to the old school. If this was the caliber of "special guests" I was in for a treat right? Of course with all these guys being from Brooklyn themselves, they were well received by the crowd.

Then came the Clipse. It was the Clipse, that's about all I can say. Neptunes beats and lots of yelling.

It was around this time that I saw Michael Rapaport walk past me with his kids. Makes sense I guess, a hip-hop show in Brooklyn you can bring your kids to. Rapaport would be there.

Large Pro came out. His beard was gray (Seriously was Main Source that long ago? I guess it was.) I figured this mofo owes me a free show for that crappy album of his I bought in 2002. What was interesting was that when he came out he took significant time talking about how he's from Queens but respects Brooklyn, "it's all love", etc. About a dozen people were into his set. The rest looked bored. More proof that Large Pro belongs behind the boards, not on the mic.

Then was another "special guest". It was the Lox. I was sorta excited. I mean, I own one Jadakiss album but this is a veritable mainstream hip-hop act in Brooklyn and it was cool to see. The crowd was nuts (but in a good way). I forgot how many songs of theirs were big hits.

Then Brand Nubian. They were decent. Lord Jamar was stuck in LA so it was just Puba and Sadat which was fine with me as they're the only two I care about anyway.

So they finished with 2 hours left in the show. You knew there had to be something big coming. One guy next to me said he heard Rakim was there. I had seen him at Rock the Bells which was just an okay performance but I was miles away. But this time I was 20 feet from the stage with a crowd that wasn't just there to punch people while Rage Against the Machine performed.

Well, no such luck. Instead, the special treat would barely resemble a hip-hop act and more closely represent a night at Chippendale's. The stage began to transform and out came a gold-plated mic stand from which protruded the letters "LL COOL J".

Girls started screaming and pushing. Two dozen long-stem roses were brought on a table to the center of the stage. I groaned as did just about every other guy in the audience. Again, I was only 20 feet away though so I had to stay for the spectacle.

So he begins his set with "paying respect to Brooklyn". Tons of the "where Brooklyn at?" and then he covers Biggie's "Hypnotize" which I thought was a really weird way to open a show. For the first few songs he would just point to women in the crowd and 4 security guards were in charge of lifting these girls over the barrier and into the space between the barrier and the stage. It was disgusting but also funny to me to see less attractive girls get turned away as they bum-rushed the stage. It was so sick and nasty. Other than the obligatory handing out of roses, his entire performance was mostly crotch grabs, lip-licking, stripping his clothes off, wiping sweat off with towels and handing them to girls, and other simulations of sex acts. The most peculiar one to me was sticking two fingers in his mouth and simulating fellatio. Is this supposed to be sexy/manly? All it does for me is stick the incredibly disturbing image of him giving another dude head which is still burning a hole in my soul. The women still screamed so I guess it works.

He did Radio, Rock the Bells, and Mama Said Knock You Out as the ONLY plus to this debacle. Although during Rock the Bells he roundhouse kicked his mic stand which was lame but overshadowed by the rest of his performance For his last song he did some song I had never heard before where he just shouted "Queens" a bunch of times. A lot of guys booed. I heard some guys next to me say aloud "you just don't do that in Brooklyn". And then Mr. Smith walked off stage.

Other lame things he did. Bring 30 women on stage for half the show and "two brothers" to show "I can't front on the dudes". Kissing each girl as they left the stage. Also "making it rain". He threw about 30 bills in the air and I figured it would be lame if they were $1 bills. Of course they were. I caught one, was annoyed, and proceeded to throw it back in the air. People looked at me like I was an ass. I figured there was a lady who wanted it more than I did.

But perhaps the king of lameness was bringing a 2 year old girl on stage, telling her she was beautiful and could do anything she put her mind to. Then he escorted her back off stage and told the crowd "we need to take care of our own". This comes from a man who grew up in modest circumstances in Queens and now lives in a Manhasset mansion rumored to be worth over 10 million, looks like he wears over 1/2 million in jewelry on stage, and is a card-carrying republican. I think he wins the title as "biggest douchebag" in hip-hop.

Rock the Bells, NYC- July 29, 2007

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.