Words: Aron Glatzer
Set to the backdrop of the San Francisco Giants’ AT&T ball park, it’s only fitting that some of the kings of hip-hop perform within view of where baseball’s home-run king has sent more baseballs into orbit than anybody in the history of the game.
Rock The Bells is the first concert I have ever heard of played in the cement block parking structure behind the kayak-infested McCovey Cove, and it was anything but a typical hip-hop show. With a more-potent lineup than this year’s MLB All-Star Game and just under 50,000 people in attendance, it certainly didn’t lack support, but with Rage Against the Machine headlining, part of the crowd better resembled Ozzfest than a rap show. This was more than evident as ‘Tool’ shirts were just as prevalent as clouds of smoke during Cypress Hill’s set. This movement actually proved beneficial to many of the artists, however, as they had the unique opportunity to perform in front of an unfamiliar audience.
“That’s a blessing in itself; energy is at the root of classic hip-hop and Rage is an off-shoot of that classic energy,” Chief Xcel from Blackalicious said.
As for the actual show, I could go on and on about Rahzel doing White Stripes’ ‘Seven Nation Army’ via beatbox, Hieroglyphics bringing back time on a Souls of Mischief throwback and more than noteworthy sets from Blackstar, EPMD, Blackalicious, Public Enemy, etc, but for brevity we’ll stick to the top three.
Prime-Time Performances
3. Wu Tang Clan: Not as epic as last year’s Bay Area show in Concord where they headlined and made life hell for security, imploring the crowd to fill the isles and rush up to the stage, but still dominant as always. ‘Triumph’ and ‘C.R.E.A.M.’ stood out, Funk Doc (Redman) made an appearance with Method Man, but ‘Gravel Pit’ and the joints off the upcoming The 8 Diagrams were left out due to time.
2. The Roots: The boys from Philly played as powerful a set as I’ve seen from them, including the one member with a massive tuba! They freaked the crowd the funk out with slight variations of ‘Where’s Your Head At?’, Biz Markie’s ‘You Got What I Need’, ‘Dre Day’, ‘Throw some D’s’, ‘This is Why I’m Hot’ and ‘Push It.’ As a live band, it was insane, but couldn’t top…
1. Rage Against The Machine: You thought it would be anybody else? They made an 8-hour festival seem like a matter of minutes by exploding onto the set with ‘Testify’ before winning the show’s top performance award for ‘Bulls on Parade.’ Tom Morello almost shredded his guitar in half! In addition, they also took home the most intense fans award, for a ten-year-old brother/sister duo who were headbanging with reckless abandon.
Crowd Blinding-Dressing With Authority
3. Ghostface Killah w/ Flavor Flav in the mix: The legend from Shaolin absolutely killed his bars on C.R.E.A.M. emitting a hue of madness with a matching bright-red hat and t-shirt. Flav joined the Clan running around taking photos on stage in a ridiculous shirt with a horizontally striped neon green and orange design.
2. Mustached Marauder: Shout out to the overly enthusiastic fan equipped with an In-n-Out Burger paper hat and t-shirt that read ‘I give high fives.’ He really did!
1. Public Enemy’s foot soldiers: Bringing ‘88 back suited in full-camouflage and black beret militant attire, these dudes meant business. It takes a nation…
