While I can’t say I was ever a huge fan of the Wu Tang Clan growing up (sacrilegious I know!), I certainly have always been able to appreciate the impact they made on the world of hip hop, something which continues today – both as a collective (sans the late ODB) and in their assorted solo projects. And this in mind, I simply couldn’t turn down the opportunity to catch one of the most recognisable voices and personalities of the pack – Ghostface Killah. It helped, too, that I’ve since become a bit of a fan since my early years of disinterest. And with a sold out crowd in hand – and a second show at the Oxford Art Factory to boot – this was indeed an opportunity passed up by very few.
Thinking I was arriving rather late to the gig, I wandered into the Forum at 9.30pm to hear a group on stage which I swore, from a distance, were Hilltop Hoods. Such shows you how into Aussie Hip Hop I am. I guess my personal opinion is that I think most of it sounds the same. Whoops. Unlike most Hip Hop groups, however, they didn’t seem too keen on self promotion. As such, I left the gig having no idea who they were, but with their seeming freestyle nature doing little to impress me (“Wu Tang” and “Ghostface Killah” were among the phrases used repeatedly) this wasn’t much of an issue. But then again, I only caught a couple of their last tracks, so I apologise if they were indeed fairly awesome before the fact.
The non-descript Aussie Hip Group (I’ve since discovered that Dialectrix were their name) were followed by a similarly non-descript DJ and the announcement that he’d be leading into Ghostface Killah and that the man himself had just entered the building. With average DJ-ing doing little to entice the crowd, and the promise of Ghostface the only thing keeping a “room buzz” alive, the following surprise did little to improve matters. Well, it turned out that Ghostface was still getting into the building. So the unknown duo “D.O.M.E.” made a “surprise” appearance, performing two tracks to an unimpressed crowd.
Two tracks too many.
I’ve never experienced the absolute dead silence of the crowd during their performance. But it wasn’t simply out of the disappointment that Ghostface was still far off in the distance. They ego of lyrics such as “you only hate us cause we’re famous” was never going to amuse the crowd, and they were treated with a rarely heard Sydney “booing” on their departure. Probably a bit strong, but appropriate in the context to be honest.
Another DJ then followed the duo, again to our dismay, but at least this DJ was playing decent tracks; from J5 to Busta Rhymes and beyond. But this did little to amend the damage done, with the crowd remaining reasonably uninspired. It was now getting close to 11.30, and a good 90 minutes after he was expected to hit the stage. Can you really blame them? It was a Wednesday night too, I must add, helping add to a general pre-existing lack of energy.
But finally, Ghostface, no doubt fresh off a line of coke, hit the stage, and for the hour-and-a-bit set, most of us were able to forget about the past hours of monotony and enjoy the master in action. And in providing the crowd with a non-stop set list of all his hits, few would have left disappointed in the ways of content. There was a large batch of tracks from Supreme Clientele (including “Apollo Kids”), and a good splattering from Iron Man and Only Built 4 Cuban Linx (Raekwon’s debut album in which he features throughout) thrown in for good measure. But personally I must admit there wasn’t nearly enough Fishscale in there!
But such was made up for with tracks from Wu Tang’s 36 Chambers, including, of course, “”Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta Fuck Wit,” which understandably had the best crowd reaction of the night. Covers of tracks by the late and great ODB and J Dilla were also well received. But after 40-or-so-minutes of hits and some classic covers, the set quickly digressed into a bit of a mess. Girls from the crowd were invited up on stage to dance with Ghostface and his 3 supporting artists (including one particular individual who left most of the guys in the crowd a bit speechless) while the DJ ran through a mix of mostly out-of-place choices, which they sort of awkwardly karaoke’d along to as the girls showed off their “moves”. Gnarls Barkley, Crazy? I rest my case.
While it picked up a bit right at the end, I couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed by the whole experience. Sure, he put on a good show, even an amazing show, for at least 60% of the time he was on stage. And there were certainly times in which you’d ignore the past and just enjoy watching a man of such incredible lyrical skill and importance to the hip-hop community work his magic. But put simply, the remainder, combined with the often unbearable preceding hours, put a damper on it all. And the resulting vibe of the exhausted crowd did little to help matters.
As I have so often lately, I felt honoured to get to see the master at work. But it’s a night which will unfortunately be remembered in a negative light. And with such a legend on hand, it’s indeed a shame.
Ghostface Photos by Contributor Chris Singh.
