Confession Time
So last week I took my regularly scheduled jab at Dr. Dre. Yet a couple days later I was reading Scratch and they profiled Dr. Dre’s eight greatest beats. I’ve got to admit, I completely agree with them.
See, I don’t think Dre is completely evil and overrated.
The Basement Experience
Last Thursday night my roommate, a coworker and I went to see Common in concert at the House of Blues. I would have said something about it in the last column but I wasn’t completely sure that I was actually going to make the show because my roommate has had previous incidents of flakiness.
Y’see earlier this year we were supposed to see Nas perform. We had it all planned out, I’d get out of work early, my roommate would pick me up and we’d hit the venue. However our plan hit a snag when Mother Nature intervened. It started to rain. Well I suppose a more accurate description would be that it started to storm.
Little known fact; people in Las Vegas don’t know how to drive. Even lesser known fact; their ability to drive decreases exponentially when precipitation is involved.
(You’re probably saying; “but Mathan, you don’t even know how to drive.” True, but I also don’t get behind the wheel of a car. So bust!)
Anyway my roommate (the wheels of the operation) arrived to pick me up late and then maintained that we didn’t have enough time to make it to the concert.
Ok, when was the last time you attended a concert that started punctually at the time printed on the ticket? Exactly. I was beefin’ with her for the rest of the night.
Back to last Thursday, I spent most of the day on the couch (it was my day off and I was supposed to be writing something). I tried not to get my hopes up about attending the concert, because of my roomies past performance.
So imagine my surprise when she arrived home and asked if I wanted to go to the show. I was actually surprised on two levels. 1) That the night was a “go” and 2) that she had forgotten my emphatic “yes” to her previous posing of the same question a week earlier.
I reiterated my “yes” and groomed myself in preparation for the show. I did some quick calculations in my head; “midnight show = 90 degrees out = dress lightly.” My roommate actually broke records by actually being ready to go less than an hour after she entered the apartment.
My roommate’s coworker arrived and we jumped in her car and took off. The ride was less than pleasant. As a matter of fact it was downright annoying. First off, the driver was a smoker. Sure she only smoked one cigarette, but it was one too many. Secondly she and my roommate were chatting away about work and work gossip which left me to completely zone out in the back seat. But it was cool because at least I could zone out to music. Oh wait, I couldn’t; the driver kept switching out CDs (that she burned herself) after only one song, and sometimes not even that long.
Can you imagine how frustrating it is, to be a music fan, and to have someone who stops a song right as you get to feeling it? It was like the worst form of torture. It made me hunger for the concert even more.
We finally get to House of Blues (which felt like 100 songs after we left) and I’m not going to like; I didn’t know Las Vegas had that many Black people living there. Sure, I’ve seen the occasional Black person here or there, but they’re usually on the arm of a white person. Here were dozens of Black people. It was like I was Baltimore again.
Once we got in we made our way down to the middle of the floor. I usually dig the middle because, well, I’m not a girl who wants to be in the front row on the off chance that I can catch the eye of the performer. Also, I’m tall enough that usually only athletes can obstruct my view, and I was easily head and shoulders above the audience in attendance. I kind of felt bad for the folks behind me, but #%@* it.
As for the concert, Common ripped it. I saw The Roots a decade ago, and this concert was better because the audience was much more live. Everyone was vibin’. It was dope. DJ Dummy is sick on the turntables. And the percussionist and keyboard player (whose names I can’t remember or find anywhere) also did their thing nicely.
(One of the downsides for not wanting to get too pumped in preparation for the concert was that I didn’t brush up on my lyrics. As a result I was mad rusty and barely rhymed along at all.)
My one problem with the show didn’t really have to do with the show at all, it was with an audience member. There was this one dude who was just too hyped. I mean everyone was pumped to be there, but this guy was like amped, way too amped. He would periodically turn around and spit Common’s rhymes at the guy who was standing behind him, and as far as I could tell they didn’t know each other.
Also based on what I could deduce, the guy was repping Chicago, because whenever Common referenced the city he would get more bombastic. He eventually made his way to the front and tossed his jersey onstage.
But aside from the superfan, the show was flawless. I’ve got to admit it was funny to see all the women who now considered Common a sex symbol, even though they probably couldn’t name three of his albums. But that’s the nature of the machine.
All in all it was a dope night. Common and company killed it in what is perhaps the consummate “Hip Hop” concert experience.
Resurrection
Shawn starts a beef with a fellow writer, while keeping it real.
Aaron dreams of Hip Hop mayors, the credence of music videos and, what? Those are real things? Man, you’ve got read that.
Jeff vents on gas prices, Diddy, and details IP second jobs.
KDP is on the other side of a beef and ponders nostalgia, among other things.
Gloomchen confirms that Courtney Love is indeed pregnant. Ewwww! And Gloomy, Three 6 Mafia is the worst thing this side of Paul Wall.
Tom gets literary on your ass. He also details Ozzfest drama. He might be taking a hiatus, so keep sending him email to let him know he’s missed.
Can I Borrow A Dollar?
Ian taunts me by showing that Doves will be performing in Baltimore, worries me with Radiohead sans record label, and entertains me by calling Eminem a sissy.
My Five Favorite Concert Experiences
1. Prince
2. Common
3. The Roots
4. Badly Drawn Boy
5. Weezer
