Our aforementioned VIP status essentially afforded us the luxury of not being around people. There was a "VIP Lounge" set up for what I imagine was a mix of 10% contest winners and 90% rich and/or foolish. It was pretty nice to watch from a decent distance, and still be able to maintain your own personal bubble. The scene in the VIP lounge was also bizarre because absolutely everyone in the "lounge" was wearing the free "Rock the Bells" backpack they were given. As well at the backpack ($20 retail value), VIP ticketholders were also given a RTB T-shirt ($30 value), 2 free drink tickets ($14-16 value, with no line-up), a poster and a VIP laminate, to which alot of people didn't see for the souvenir they were intended as, and both wore and flashed them around all day like tools.
Things I was looking forward to at Rock The Bells:
1. Murs
2. Method Man & Redman
3. Free Backpack
4. A Tribe Called Quest/Pharcyde Reunions
5. 2 Free Drinks
Things I learned at Rock the Bells
1. First and foremost, Rappers' primary concern above all else is if "Real Hip Hop" is indeed in the building or not. This is something they need constant confirmation of, through applause.
2. The biggest Beef in Hip Hop isn't Solja Boy vs. Ice T, Suge Knight vs. Snoop, G-Unit vs. Everyone or even East vs. West. No, the biggest beef in Hip Hop today is Hip Hop Artists vs. Live Sound Engineers.
Offhand, I can think of 1 performer out of the 10 that I saw (Murs), that didn't complain or demand sound changes ad-nausium.
3. Seeing almost 10 hours of live Hip Hop makes you wish you could implant "Bass Inhibitors" into your ears for a couple of days after. Low tones would be filtered out, subwoofers would be useless and the guy from Crash Test Dummies' voice would be completely inaudible.
Highlights included Murs, whom we intentionally got there right in time to see. "This might not mean anything to you, but this sample cost me $50,000 American dollars!" He announced before his newest single, the Temptations-sampled "Better Than The Best" (best line in that being the boast "I'm shakin' babies!").
Method Man & Redman's set was as high energy as you'd expect, with much of the crowd behind them all the way. The set ended with Redman's excited announcement that not only will there be "The Blackout 2", their follow-up collaborative album, but "How High 2" begins filming next year. (Here's hopin' for their short lived sitcom "Meth & Red" on DVD).
Nas's set was non-stop and impressive. It seemed like atleast 25 songs in 40 or so minutes.
In between sets Supernatural would be the de facto "host" of the proceedings, and when Rakim's late arrival threw the schedule off, he and Scratch treated the crowd to almost a full set of their own. I'd seen Supernatural profiled on the "Freestyle" DVD, but seeing him freestyle live was even more impressive. He would rhyme about whatever people yelled or threw on stage. I can't even fathom the amount of work and consentration that must take. Truly an unexpected treat.
Lastly, De La Soul and the Pharcyde's performances were on point, with Pharcyde peppering their set with well known solo tracks and guest appearances such a "What Up, Fatlip?" and Booty Brown's Verse from Gorillaz's "Dirty Harry".
Low points were Jay Electronica's unprofessional sound complaints, culminating in an early departure, exclaiming his point by throwing a wireless mic into the crowd and saying "Take it off my check, peace" and storming off. Upon considering his exit further we determined a between-set/second stage slot on a national festival wouldn't pay more than the price of a professional wireless mic. Good thing Supernatural retrieved the mic soon after.
Rakim's rescheduled set with Kid Capri (known as the yelling dude from Ghostfaces "Celebrate" to the uninitiated) fell victim to similar problems, and though Rakim had a more professional demeanor, the shortened set was still tough on the ears due to sound issues which Rakim was keen to ignore as oppose to taking the time to fix properly.
Sadly for A Tribe Called Quest, it was a long day and I personally hit a wall around the middle of Nas's set. Tribe played a very solid set, with some cool visuals, but I think alot of the crowd were just as drained. My suspicions were confirmed when Q-Tip announced they only had a few left and about half of the crowd (myself included) were bound for the back exits.
All and all, it was a good day. $75 would have been worth it for die-hard fans of Tribe, Mos, Pharcyde, Nas, etc, but nearly $200 is not a bargin for anyone, ever, free backpack or not. I think my buddy Kortnee summed the pricetag issue up best: "For two hundred dollars I'd have to be able to rock out on stage with them for it to be worth it".
Luckily for us, it was all free, and luckily for the crowd in attendance, our VIP tickets didn't allow for any stage rockage.
Thanks Kortnee! Thanks thefader.com!
Pictures
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