The weekend of July 28th I had tickets for ROCK THE BELLS at Randalls Island in New York City. The plan was to take my nephew to see some hip hop acts he may never be able to see live. Also to witness the grandeur of the city of New York. Especially Wu Tang and Public Enemy and Rakim. From the moment I agreed to pick up Matt Manuel from the airport in Boston I knew it was going to be pushing the limits of time and space to make the trip happen.
I am not doing a complete review here just some quick thoughts. I will quote a much more complete review at the bottom of the post. One over arching feeling of the whole experience was the lack of the vibes I was hoping for. Maybe it was me... IF it was me sorry! But otherwise it was a big swampy mess that for a few brief moments of greatness was half assed. The sound was not bad at all as some reviewers have said and the food/merch parts were decent (no water shortages like the day before). I was wishing I had earplugs for the part when Anthrax came on (i like the anthrax contrib but the speakers were peircing bad during that part. I feel like the artists had trouble getting into the show for the most part. Of course the indie stage was a little better as far as overall vibe was concerned... however i still saw alot of hard looking faces around me for the most part. Not too many chances to connect with random people.. EXCEPT for Jamery, Devon, Mike from Ann Arbor Michigan and some cats from Canada who were from Woodstock NB and the guys from Maine standing behind us from during Cypress's slot.
Highlights of the Show
Walking into the show from the parking lot hearing Pharoah Monch's "Simon says" blaring towards us as we approached the gates.
Felt coming on stage and the Grouch talking shit for 15 minutes entertaining the crowd while they got setup.
Being in a line entering the front section while Cypress Hill belted out "How I can just kill a man". The crowd around me reverently nodded to each other for a moment recognizing each others humanity and the fact that we are only here on earth with each other briefly.
The best combined musical lineup I've ever attended; Rock The Bells boasted my 2 favorite groups of all time, as well as solid pillars of golden age hip-hop who never failed to bring quality hip-hop w/ or without
platinum plaques, and the hottest up and coming renegades I've been enjoying and keeping my eye on for a few years.
One of those is hardcore rapper/activist Immortal Technique. I was following the schedule on RTB's website but it seemed the show was running ahead of schedule, so I only caught the last 3 songs from his set. But it's all good 'cause I saw him and every single MC that guests on "Peruvian Cocaine", the best posse cut of recent years, do the song live on stage. Not only that but it was July 28th, Peruvian independence Day; so for me and my wife seeing Tech was more than fitting.
We caught 'im on the giant monitors, then up closer to the stage. Tech talked about how the golden age cats on the bill represented that which was missing in hip-hop today; Balance. His DJ rightfully ridiculed the wack "mixtape" DJs that are the norm these days. Then some ironic banter that rang truer than it should. Tech's crew asked if anyone from their zone; Harlem; was in the house tonight...half smirking; knowing full well this pale crowd that smacked of privilege was a million miles from the starving homeless children in Lima or the mind-shackled troops in Harlem Tech so militantly represents.
This was blatant to me when we walked into the venue as well. This crowd looked like an Abercrombie & Fitch poster...much more so than the troops I know Immortal Tech is trying to inspire, or the descendants of the Mayas or Mexicas Rage Against The Machine devotes a good portion of their catalogue to. Add to the lineup Public Enemy, Black Star, Mr. Lif & The Roots and it then it almost becomes an issue why this crowd of almost 40,000 is almsot the thematic opposite of these groups' targets & messages.
But make no mistake; 90% of this audience was definetely here to see RATM first and foremost. Which is a shame considering the abundance of talent in the Paid Dues stage. Over there I caught Mr. Lif do his thing...hearing "Earthcrusher" blasting through the system. This was another thing worth noting; Randall's Island had a phenomenal sound system for a venue that large. And I know 'cause I was front row in front of the stacks of speakers; and the next day while driving thru the Triboro bridge while the next day's concert was on; I could hear the concert live and clear.
While only in passing overheard Pharaoe Monche's set; he rocked it correct with that very musical new album of his. He seemed to amp the guitars a little in foreshadowing of what was to come. EPMD did their best to rock a crowd that they admitted right on stage where too young to probably recognize them. But I did; all the hits blasted thru the PAs and I saw most of the performance on the monitors. Overheard Mos Def & Talib Kweli while getting food, as I've seen them countless times before. But headed back in, in time to catch Public Enemy whom I'd heard had been moved to an earlier time slot. This was a mistake for The Roots, Cypress Hill & Wu-Tang; because although they all rocked the set; PE was second only to their headlining disciples.
It wasn't until PE came on stage that the show really got started. Classic material, amped up with very tight instrumentation catapulted the show into what it promised to do. Not long into the set; PE brought out a surprising guest on many levels. Scott Ian from Anthrax came on and PE remixed live on stage "Bring The Noise" into "Bring Tha Noize" as he trashed up the guitar and gave us the closest thing to the PE/Anthrax tour of '91. PE rocked the house, and then it was time for the Flava Of Flav. He proceeded to introduce his family, and began talking about his TV shows. But the very same charisma that propelled him to TV stardom also had the audience laughing and not minding the lapse of music while he talked. However;
although a great intrumental rendition of "911 Is A Joke" was served; we didn't get to hear "Fight The Power". I saw PE back in 2002 when they had began using a live band; but now years later this band is been tightened to perfection.
The Roots put on one of their usal tight sets...this one funkier than usual and which included a great great cover of "Jungle Boogie", with all instruments in tow. Only The Roots can get away with rocking a Tuba;
and they did and uesd it to cover Chubb Rock's "Treat 'Em Right". "Seed 2.0" as well as the standards from "Things Fall Apart" all did their routine, although the crowd seemed non-responsive.
This is however due to other factors. A large open stadium, blazing intense sun & heat, and what seemed like limited supplies of water. Add to that massive amounts of beer & you got the perfect combination for heat exhaustion. Me and my wife wintnessed that from the front row. Scores of fainted carried thru by bodyguards, the heat stroked vomitters, as well as the usual bleeding victims of the mosh pits.
This was Cypress Hill's contribution, that's when the pits seemed to start, or at least when people started spilling out to the front of the audience. Cypress is always had a live rock energy; and here they amped up
the crowd kicking it off with "Another Body Drops" going thru the classics like "How I Could Jsut Kill A Man", "Hand On The Pump" & ending it fittingly with "Rock Superstar". MJ schticks aside; they rocked a solid set & even the security up front knew all the words.
Then Wu-Tang descended on the stage, the energy spiking for classics like "...Aint Nuthin Ta Fuck Wit", "SOAN" & "Da Mystery Of Chessboxin'". But their set was merely preparation for the headliners. Wu-Tang was in fine form though, running on all cylinders & giving a better performance than the 3 shows I first caught them do in '97 when they first opened for RATM.
Of course they were the main event. And from the opening words of "Good evening; we're Rage Against the Machine from Los Angeles, California"...which sounded more like a threat; the crowd really really came
alive. There was no doubt, every bored face around me during THe Roots set or Wu-Tang..was now airborne. And the band? as fine as they have ever been. The energy and Zack De La Rocha's existentialist exorcism were intact and actually felt...fresh. It didn't matter that they stuttered the very beginning of "Guerrilla Radio" until a few measures in; everyone in the house knew every word to every lyric...and everyone took to the air during the choruses. De La Rocha dedicated "Down Rodeo" to Immortal Technique as if passing the torch...and they tore right thru that, "Calm Like A Bomb", "Bullet In The Head", "Bulls On Parade". Perhaps the greatest testimony to the power of the band; my wife, having hardly ever heard the band, and having mainly endured the other acts; absolutely fell in love with the energy of their live performance. Who cares if we were getting crushed and fighting off landing crowd surfers; this felt like the 90s. The only difference was De La Rochas counter speech to Fox News/ Hannity &
Colmes/AnnCoulter & their clarification of their position on the trial, judging and subsequent hanging of George W Bush.
Seven years later and in a bill full of legends; RATM proved as always that they were a live band first and foremost. The next day, slowly driving thru the Triboro Bridge toll lanes; Irolled down the windows & overheard "Bulls On Parade" from beginning to end...clearly blasting from the venue. My wife asked if we could just get off on the Randalls Island entrance and go see the show again; even after 9 hours of heat & exhaustion from the day before.
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