MOS DEF IN SAN JOSE - TRAVELLIN MAN from Lyphelong Productions on Vimeo.
Look here u ignorant motherfucker, this isn't a review. This is uncompromisable artistic integrity. Now shut the fuck up and watch me bang my drums)
Last night Auckland had its soul sodomized as one of the greatest lyricists to ever live performed some of the worst songs he's ever written. It was heartbreaking. D'angelo mug shot ugly. Like Bob Dylan on his period. As he ran through his latest album 'Ecstatic' his true fans in the audience were anything but that. While waiting patiently to hear something from the classic records 'Black On Both Sides' or 'Black Star' they were instead punished with songs like 'Priority' and 'The Embassy'. Songs which are dwarfed by his earlier material and were incomprehensible thanks to the microphone Mos had stolen from the Johnny Cash Museum. It was hardly 'Life In Marvelous Times' and not even the Jacksons (Madlib and Oh No) thumping production was enough to make up for the lack of song structure and any kind of binding lyrical content.
Then after half an hour of Lauren-Hilling it he had a minor melt down with an audience member who thought it was a request show. Even Bono would've thought it was preachy. Of course it was understandable. But if we had wanted to pay money to be shouted at, we would've seen a dominatrix. And yeah original is always good. But shit, he played the haka as his opening song. I felt like Richie McCaw.
The night wasn't a complete fuck up though. After the 7th of the 10 commandments he finally moved on to the much loved 'Travelling Man' 'Mathematics' and 'Umi Says'. By that point though it felt like a kiss from an abusive husband. The energy was like the principals office and my umi said get the fuck out of there. The crowd then chanted 10 minutes for an encore but all I wanted was a refund.
You broke our hearts Mos Def.
Some of the realist shit I have seen posted thus far on last night's concert. Him on the drums for Casa Bey was also forgettable. Don't be fooled by the casual fans saying how good he was, he was decidedly dissapointing, (I could tell you were as well, I was standing behind you). When Auditorium is the best song of the night, then you know your set list has problem, as much as I love that song. I just though it was the opposite to what Kweli brought, which was set for the true fans, Mos was way more casual. Hip Hop and Mathematics didnt' even go off like they should of.
ReplyDeleteIf someone had told me that for 77 dollars I was gonna get 3 songs off Black on Both Sides excluding Ms Fat Booty, Speed Law and mainly The Ecstatic (not even playing History, the best song on that album) I would of laughed.
But It wasnt funny, and Mos disappointed me.
I actually enjoyed the bizarreness of the song selection even though most of the ecstatic ones are pretty undanceable. The two new ones he played that I remember clearly were dope, mean beats and the kung fu school one I found pretty funny. But that's just me. It was mean to me that he did his shit the way he wanted to. I mean it's not 1999, so he's probably gonna have evolved a bit as an artist whether we like it or not. The drum bit went on for a bit too long I thought. But hey that's his vibe. I was stoked that the dude was having an awesome time doing his show judging by the smile on his face. I was at Talib Kweli too and agree that Kweli's set was way more true fan friendly and more enjoyable in terms of song selection. Anyway I just enjoy Mos' lyricism and how he's on his own buzz and isn't afraid to be. The way he handled the shouting dude I reckon was pretty admirable, he could've just got him chucked out or something. "One for charlie hustle, two for steady rock, three for the fourth coming live, future shock" hearing that live made it totally worth it for me.
ReplyDeleteI would've been happy if he played 'Definiton' then went home. Wada build up!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! i feel better for not going now. yay!
ReplyDeleteall because of that bad bad bad whiskey
ReplyDeleteCome on cuz. Remeber it was the 'The Esactic Tour'.
ReplyDeleteBesides his piss poor drumming I thought the show was dope.