So part of the reason that I haven't updated in so long is because I road-tripped with a bunch of friends to Chicago to see the Pitchfork Music Festival. We went to see a bunch of awesome artists -- Junior Boys, Jamie Lidell, Clipse, The New Pornographers, and Fujiya & Miyagi all played great sets -- but nothing was more exciting than the thought of GZA/Genius playing his classic album Liquid Swords in its entirety. Never mind that I was going to all of Liquid Swords live; one of the real thrills was getting to see GZA, a phenomenal MC whose persona is usually muted when performing with the rest of Wu-Tang, take center stage. Or maybe Wu-Tang would be there to drop their guest verses! Maybe just Method Man would stop by to annihilate "Shadowboxin'"! Oh, the possibilities...Sadly, the rest of the Wu was absent -- "I'm missin a Wu-Tang show in Amsterdam to be here", GZA told the audience early in the set. Only Cappadonna was present, working as a highly-respected hypeman. My friend and I joked that Cappadonna was like the kid nobody really wanted around in Wu-Tang, and that the rest of the Clan insisted on him not performing with them in Amsterdam. In reality, this joke was a little harsh; although he sort of out of his mind and a sometimes-cab driver, Cappadonna dropped some fun verses alongside GZA. Killah Priest was there, and the only thing I remember him doing was trying to sell his t-shirts. Unsuccessfully.
But it was GZA's time to shine, and shine he did -- he played chopped-and-screwed versions of Liquid Swords songs to accomodate for the lack of guest stars, but the beats still sounded terrific, and the Genius still sounded impressive. He and the rest of his posse were wearing their own t-shirts, which was understandable I guess. After he finished "B.I.B.L.E.", GZA, looking like he didn't want to leave the spotlight, played some of "Reunited", did an ODB tribute with "Shimmy Shimmy Ya", and then goaded the crowd with a "New Wu-Tang album this fall!" before launching into "Triumph". Let's face it: 8 Diagrams will probably be the next Chinese Democracy, or at least the next Detox. In another interview, GZA said the album might drop in "October, maybe". Expect it in '09.
Whatever. We always have Liquid Swords to bask in, and I really think the DJ Muggs collabo Grandmasters is just going to get better with age. And I know it's basically impossible, but I would love for GZA to take Liquid Swords on the road, so I could enjoy it without being surrounded by a bunch of apathetic Sonic Youth fans. C'mon guys. It's muthafuckin Liquid Swords!
2 comments:
I loved his set but not knowing any other GZA material that wasn't on Liquid Swords/36 Chambers, I was kind of lost towards the end and thought it could/should have ended a few minutes earlier. That makes me sound like an annoying SY fanboy, but I assure you I wasn't one of those dudes pushing their way through the crowd after GZA's set.
It's totally understandable to say that GZA's set should have just ended with "B.I.B.L.E." and not continued outside of "Liquid Swords", since that's what GZA was probably supposed to do. If I didn't love the songs "Reunited" and "Triumph" so much, I'd definitely agree with you. Thanks for the comment.
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