Post by Dark 7 Invader on Feb 15, 2006 4:32:24 GMT -5
Special to The Washington Post
Wednesday, February 15, 2006; Page C01
It's 8:30 p.m. Do you know where your Wu-Tang Clan is?
Never big on punctuality, the reunited hip-hop supergroup stormed the 9:30 club for two performances Monday night. But get this: All of its members managed to show up -- and practically on time.
The RZA, one of the original members of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, performs at the 9:30 club Monday. (By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)
Got your checklist handy? The GZA, the RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa -- even the peripheral Wu figures Cappadonna, Street Life and Mathematics -- crowded the stage to pay tribute to founding member Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died of a drug overdose in late 2004.
And though the Clan's early performance might have been intended as a trip down memory lane, it felt more like a race against the club's 10 p.m. deadline for the early show. The group crashed through 29 -- count 'em, 29 -- songs during its dizzying 60-minute set.
Classic cuts ("Can It Be All So Simple"), solo bangers (GZA's "Liquid Swords"), big hits ("C.R.E.A.M.") and obscure favorites (RZA's "See the Joy") -- with a little editing here and there, the Clan ripped them all. Despite reports of a forthcoming Wu-Tang album, it was a night to celebrate the group's history. Meth' broke out the champagne accordingly, spraying the crowd with bubbly while romping through his eponymous anthem "Method Man."
That tune comes from the Clan's legendary 1993 debut "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," an album on which nine young Staten Island MCs trade ferocious verses over skeletal snare hits and twinkling soul samples.
Sonically, "36 Chambers" remains massively influential -- Kanye West has copped to stealing that sped-up-soul-sample trick from Wu-Tang producer the RZA -- but live, such sonic flourishes could not compete with the sound of so many grown men huffing and puffing on the microphone.
"No question I would flow off, and try to get the dough all," Raekwon spit over the fragile piano loops of "C.R.E.A.M.," the group's breakthrough single. "Sticking up white boys in the ball courts --"
"Like you, and you, and you," Meth' interjected, teasing the early show's predominantly white crowd. No offense taken. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he bounded onstage, and he took a gleeful stage dive during "Bring the Pain."
Because the show had so much to feast on, O.D.B.'s absence wasn't felt until the Clan performed his signature hits "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Brooklyn Zoo." At the group's request, fans threw their lighters up during "Shimmy." You had to be careful that the dude next to you didn't singe the hair off your knuckles.
With time running out, Ghostface ripped through "Run," the show's penultimate number. "Hop fences, jump over benches," he shouted, "When you see me comin' get the [expletive] out the entrance! Run!" (9:30 club staffers, eager to clear the club, might have hoped fans would take these lyrics to heart). Wu-Tang closed the show with "Triumph" -- possibly its greatest posse cut. Despite O.D.B.'s missing ad-libs, it was thrilling to see almost every rapper onstage weave his verse from top to bottom.
By 9:30, coincidentally, it was all over. The only one left onstage was Method Man, who was giving high-fives, dancing to the house music and tossing bottles of water to the lingering crowd.
After Meth' eventually split, the exit-bound crowd members ran into Cappadonna, hawking a pile of white T-shirts and kissing young ladies on the cheek.
These guys were going to take the stage again in less than two hours, but they couldn't pull themselves away from their fans.
The Wu-Tang Clan's best years might be behind them, but the night was still young.
Props: www.washingtonpost.com
Wednesday, February 15, 2006; Page C01
It's 8:30 p.m. Do you know where your Wu-Tang Clan is?
Never big on punctuality, the reunited hip-hop supergroup stormed the 9:30 club for two performances Monday night. But get this: All of its members managed to show up -- and practically on time.
The RZA, one of the original members of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan, performs at the 9:30 club Monday. (By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)
Got your checklist handy? The GZA, the RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa -- even the peripheral Wu figures Cappadonna, Street Life and Mathematics -- crowded the stage to pay tribute to founding member Ol' Dirty Bastard, who died of a drug overdose in late 2004.
And though the Clan's early performance might have been intended as a trip down memory lane, it felt more like a race against the club's 10 p.m. deadline for the early show. The group crashed through 29 -- count 'em, 29 -- songs during its dizzying 60-minute set.
Classic cuts ("Can It Be All So Simple"), solo bangers (GZA's "Liquid Swords"), big hits ("C.R.E.A.M.") and obscure favorites (RZA's "See the Joy") -- with a little editing here and there, the Clan ripped them all. Despite reports of a forthcoming Wu-Tang album, it was a night to celebrate the group's history. Meth' broke out the champagne accordingly, spraying the crowd with bubbly while romping through his eponymous anthem "Method Man."
That tune comes from the Clan's legendary 1993 debut "Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)," an album on which nine young Staten Island MCs trade ferocious verses over skeletal snare hits and twinkling soul samples.
Sonically, "36 Chambers" remains massively influential -- Kanye West has copped to stealing that sped-up-soul-sample trick from Wu-Tang producer the RZA -- but live, such sonic flourishes could not compete with the sound of so many grown men huffing and puffing on the microphone.
"No question I would flow off, and try to get the dough all," Raekwon spit over the fragile piano loops of "C.R.E.A.M.," the group's breakthrough single. "Sticking up white boys in the ball courts --"
"Like you, and you, and you," Meth' interjected, teasing the early show's predominantly white crowd. No offense taken. He held the crowd in the palm of his hand from the moment he bounded onstage, and he took a gleeful stage dive during "Bring the Pain."
Because the show had so much to feast on, O.D.B.'s absence wasn't felt until the Clan performed his signature hits "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" and "Brooklyn Zoo." At the group's request, fans threw their lighters up during "Shimmy." You had to be careful that the dude next to you didn't singe the hair off your knuckles.
With time running out, Ghostface ripped through "Run," the show's penultimate number. "Hop fences, jump over benches," he shouted, "When you see me comin' get the [expletive] out the entrance! Run!" (9:30 club staffers, eager to clear the club, might have hoped fans would take these lyrics to heart). Wu-Tang closed the show with "Triumph" -- possibly its greatest posse cut. Despite O.D.B.'s missing ad-libs, it was thrilling to see almost every rapper onstage weave his verse from top to bottom.
By 9:30, coincidentally, it was all over. The only one left onstage was Method Man, who was giving high-fives, dancing to the house music and tossing bottles of water to the lingering crowd.
After Meth' eventually split, the exit-bound crowd members ran into Cappadonna, hawking a pile of white T-shirts and kissing young ladies on the cheek.
These guys were going to take the stage again in less than two hours, but they couldn't pull themselves away from their fans.
The Wu-Tang Clan's best years might be behind them, but the night was still young.
Props: www.washingtonpost.com