Friday, August 29, 2008
i slayed emcees back in the rec room era
The crowd was also awesome. Made up almost entirely of hardcore Wu-Tang fans, it seemed like everyone there showed up to witness an amazing show, shout along with the Genius, and have a good time. The security guards were packing metal detectors at the door, but the negative stereotypes about hip hop fans that sort of equipment suggests certainly weren't on display inside. But back to the performance...
The many guests on Liquid Swords obviously weren't in attendance, but the GZA, who, rather refreshingly, didn't even have a hype man with him, did a pretty good job of reworking tracks or rapping the verses of his missing Clan members himself. The highlight for me came right off the bat, when the most familiar lines of dialogue from Shogun Assassin for any rap fan gave way to the title track from the Genius' debut, but there weren't exactly any lowlights to speak of.
After he finished a full run through of Liquid Swords he dipped a little further into his catalogue, focusing on Pro Tools (which was out this week), but also pulling from his other releases, including an awesome, impromptu, acapella version of "Fame."
Tonight, Featherwolf, Lord Beginner, and A Pale Blue are at Pat's.
Also tonight, Howlin' Rain is at the Media Club with Small Fame (feat. Dan from Bend Sinister) are at the Media Club.
Tomorrow, Half Alive helps the Biltmore celebrate its reopening with Reflektionss (Jesse from Twin Crystals/etc) and Vapid.
I was going to comment on the whole Biltmore thing, but, fuck it, it's the long weekend soon.
Also on Saturday, Le Gem is at the Astoria for Better than Nothing.
On Monday, if you need more music after the Vic Square Block Party, you can head to the Bourbon for the after party with Bison and Sorcerers. $5 at the door and sure to be slammed.
On September 4th, if you happen to be back at UBC for school, you can check out Leah Abramson for free outside the SUB at noon. You can also grab the podcast of her performance/interview on Thunderbird Radio Hell last night right here.
The Good News celebrate their album release at the Bourbon on September 21st. Terror Bird and the Blastramp! DJs join them.
now playing: the Walkmen (who I should have gone to see last night) - the Blue Route
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
if you want beef then bring the ruckus
Dear Seattle,
Thank you for being such a wonderful host. I'm sorry that we only made it down for two days. Thanks for introducing us to the Whiskey Bar anyways. Please let them know that any place that serves about 200 kinds of whiskey and has both Slayer and the Band on the jukebox is A-OK in my books.
Next time we get together, please tell your friends the Wu-Tang Clan that, even though they can rock a stage better than 99.9% of other so called hip hop acts when they're and extra two men down, I would appreciate it if the Genius and Tony Starks showed up. I mean, I even wore Wallabees in honour of the latter.
Finally, your Space Needle is very pretty at night, but if she likes being the most beautiful thing around, she might not want to let Andrew Bird play a twilight set while she shines in the background. It was gracious of her to let him play that secret show on Monday after he stole her thunder the night before. It was gracious of him to bust out "Wait" for the first time in forever.
Love,
Quinn
PS: Dick's Drive-In is still the best hangover cure ever.
PPS: I hope that guy/girl found a ride back to Vancouver after Wu-Tang
I have to work for about 12 hours tomorrow... an update with listings and whatnot after that.
now playing:
i slayed emcees back in the rec room era
The GZA could have hit the stage on Wednesday and gone through the motions, and frankly, I still would've considered it money well spent. I mean, he was performing the best Wu solo record in its entirety. And while he wasn't David Banner (and it would be weird if he performed like that), he was energetic, charismatic, and most importantly, his flow was impeccable.
The crowd was also awesome. Made up almost entirely of hardcore Wu-Tang fans, it seemed like everyone there showed up to witness an amazing show, shout along with the Genius, and have a good time. The security guards were packing metal detectors at the door, but the negative stereotypes about hip hop fans that sort of equipment suggests certainly weren't on display inside. But back to the performance...
The many guests on Liquid Swords obviously weren't in attendance, but the GZA, who, rather refreshingly, didn't even have a hype man with him, did a pretty good job of reworking tracks or rapping the verses of his missing Clan members himself. The highlight for me came right off the bat, when the most familiar lines of dialogue from Shogun Assassin for any rap fan gave way to the title track from the Genius' debut, but there weren't exactly any lowlights to speak of.
After he finished a full run through of Liquid Swords he dipped a little further into his catalogue, focusing on Pro Tools (which was out this week), but also pulling from his other releases, including an awesome, impromptu, acapella version of "Fame."
Tonight, Featherwolf, Lord Beginner, and A Pale Blue are at Pat's.
Also tonight, Howlin' Rain is at the Media Club with Small Fame (feat. Dan from Bend Sinister) are at the Media Club.
Tomorrow, Half Alive helps the Biltmore celebrate its reopening with Reflektionss (Jesse from Twin Crystals/etc) and Vapid.
I was going to comment on the whole Biltmore thing, but, fuck it, it's the long weekend soon.
Also on Saturday, Le Gem is at the Astoria for Better than Nothing.
On Monday, if you need more music after the Vic Square Block Party, you can head to the Bourbon for the after party with Bison and Sorcerers. $5 at the door and sure to be slammed.
On September 4th, if you happen to be back at UBC for school, you can check out Leah Abramson for free outside the SUB at noon. You can also grab the podcast of her performance/interview on Thunderbird Radio Hell last night right here.
The Good News celebrate their album release at the Bourbon on September 21st. Terror Bird and the Blastramp! DJs join them.
now playing: the Walkmen (who I should have gone to see last night) - the Blue Route
Labels: gza, show announcements, show recaps, wu-tang clan
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
if you want beef then bring the ruckus
Dear Seattle,
Thank you for being such a wonderful host. I'm sorry that we only made it down for two days. Thanks for introducing us to the Whiskey Bar anyways. Please let them know that any place that serves about 200 kinds of whiskey and has both Slayer and the Band on the jukebox is A-OK in my books.
Next time we get together, please tell your friends the Wu-Tang Clan that, even though they can rock a stage better than 99.9% of other so called hip hop acts when they're and extra two men down, I would appreciate it if the Genius and Tony Starks showed up. I mean, I even wore Wallabees in honour of the latter.
Finally, your Space Needle is very pretty at night, but if she likes being the most beautiful thing around, she might not want to let Andrew Bird play a twilight set while she shines in the background. It was gracious of her to let him play that secret show on Monday after he stole her thunder the night before. It was gracious of him to bust out "Wait" for the first time in forever.
Love,
Quinn
PS: Dick's Drive-In is still the best hangover cure ever.
PPS: I hope that guy/girl found a ride back to Vancouver after Wu-Tang
I have to work for about 12 hours tomorrow... an update with listings and whatnot after that.
now playing:
Labels: andrew bird, bumbershoot, lazy show recaps, wu-tang clan
