House Of Pain At The Nokia Theatre NYC

At last night's (Thursday, March 18) House of Pain and La Coka Nostra concert at the Nokia Theater in NYC.

Photos:
Getty Images
Rex Features
Star Traks Photo

Tour dates:
March 19 - Webster Theater, Hartford, CT
March 20 - Palladium, Worcester, MA
March 21 - Northern Lights, Clifton Park, NY

(video courtesy of alyssascheinson)

Raekwon & Ghostface Killah Nokia Theatre NYC 'Wu-Massacre' Concert Recap

via Entertainment Weekly

Wu-Massacre, the album that Method Man, Raekwon, and Ghostface Killah are dropping March 30, whittles down the Wu-Tang Clan to three of its finest. Last night, that line-up was pared further to just Raekwon and Ghostface, for what was billed as an early Wu-Massacre release celebration at the Nokia Theater in NYC’s Times Square (Friday, March 5). There was some sense in making the trio a duo. Rae and Ghost, in particular, have often felt like a group within a group on the Clan’s releases. These guys go together like peanut butter and jelly, or pasta and tomato sauce — speaking of which, they collaborate often enough to have come up with the acronym R.A.G.U. (for “Rae and Ghost United”) to identify their joint efforts.



The concert began with a string of unimpeachable cuts from 1995’s classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… — technically Raekwon’s solo debut, but one to which Ghostface contributed heavily, earning prominent billing on the album’s cover. Their undiminished chemistry was evident in the show-opening string of “Criminology,” “Incarcerated Scarfaces,” “Ice Cream,” and “Verbal Intercourse.” Both rappers are essentially storytellers, Ghostface narrating crime sagas with a jumpy urgency, Raekwon doing the same in gravelly and matter-of-fact tones. Together they strode the stage like giants, joining in on one another’s lyrics at key points for emphasis.



After a few more tunes from their catalog (notably Ghostface’s “Mighty Healthy”), the pair retreated to the back of the stage while random New York mixtape rappers like Grafh and Red Cafe appeared to perform unannounced mini-sets. I’ve got nothing against those dudes, but as far as surprise guests go, I was hoping more for, well, Method Man, or at least Masta Killa. No such luck. At least we got to see Smif-n-Wessun do 1994’s “Bucktown,” whose rough NY sound isn’t so far removed from Rae and Ghost’s territory.



Thankfully, Rae and Ghost took center stage again before long. The crowd of die-hard Wu fans flipped out when they ran through several necessary selections from the Clan’s epochal 1993 debut, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), including “Bring da Ruckus,” “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing ta F— Wit,” “Shame on a N—-,” “C.R.E.A.M.” (You can see Raekwon do the latter song’s opening verse last night below, thanks to the magic of YouTube; some NSFW language, obviously.) It is never less than thrilling to hear these songs in any context, even when only two members of the nine-man group are present. Rae and Ghost paid tribute to their late friend Ol’ Dirty Bastard by performing his solo single “Shimmy Shimmy Ya” before returning to a few more of their own solo tunes (Raekwon’s “Canal Street,” Ghostface’s “Holla”).



Then came another series of guests, for some reason. A rapper identified only as “Ghost’s son” sounded like a much less experienced version of his dad (only fair, I suppose). Jim Jones walked on for “We Fly High” to much applause. It was interesting to see Rae and Ghost as the kind of elder statesmen who would cede so much of their own concert for the benefit of competitors like Jones — not something either of them have necessarily been best known for in the past. That generous spirit still wasn’t enough to make these interludes feel like smart uses of the audience’s time.

All was more or less forgiven by the crowd when the beat for the Clan’s 1997 single “Triumph” kicked in. No further members made last-minute appearances as Rae and Ghost closed out the show, sadly. Still, my only real complaint last night was that the two main performers didn’t go even deeper into their shared catalog. Concerts can have far worse problems than that. Were any of you at the Nokia Theater last night? Are you looking forward to Wu-Massacre?

Photos:
Getty Images
Wire Image

More fan shot footage below.



(video courtesy of t2optimus, ladiemare & eja688)

R. Kelly In Concert At The Nokia Theatre Los Angeles Show Recap

As reported by Mikael Wood at the Los Angeles Times

Kelly boasts one of R&B's most expansive catalogs, and at the Nokia he seemed determined to showcase as much of that work as he could during his 90-minute set. That meant truncated versions of tracks like "Fiesta," "I'm a Flirt" and "You Remind Me of Something," the last of which inspired another stream-of-consciousness riff, this one about how the song put the singer in mind of "that old-school Kells."
"Y'all remember all them songs?" he asked, and for those that didn't he provided a helpful review.

Boiled down to a single verse or chorus, some of Kelly's tunes improved; he's not above belaboring a point, particularly when he starts trying to unpack the philosophy of a player. Others, though -- such as the effervescent "Ignition (Remix)" and "Strip for You," in which he made a delightful rhyme of the song's title and "switcheroo" -- felt unnecessarily hurried. He could (and should) have performed "Step in the Name of Love" for two or three times longer than he did.

After a while, Kelly halted the hit parade to address an issue he said he hadn't planned on mentioning. (Yeah, right.)

"This is my first tour since my court case," he said, referring to a heavily publicized 2008 trial in which he was acquitted of several child pornography charges. "And I'm still here!"

Read ore of the review here:
L.A. Times - Live review: R. Kelly at Nokia Theatre

Photos:
L.A. Times
Wire Image

R. Kelly "Ladies Make Some Noise Tour" dates:
Sat 11/07/09 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theatre
Thu 11/12/09 - Indianapolis, IN - TBA
Sat 11/14/09 - Detroit, MI - TBA
Sun 11/15/09 - Milwaukee, WI - Milwaukee Theatre
Tue 11/17/09 - Chicago, IL - Auditorium Theatre
Fri 11/20/09 - Louisville, KY - Louisville Palace Theatre
Sat 11/21/09 - Charlotte, NC - TBA
Sun 11/22/09 - Greensboro, NC - Special Events Center
Tue 11/24/09 - Washington, DC - TBA
Fri 11/27/09 - Jacksonville, FL - Moran Theater
Sat 11/28/09 - Miami, FL - Knight Concert Hall
Sun 11/29/09 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center
Fri 12/04/09 - Norfolk, VA - TBA
Sat 12/05/09 - Richmond, VA - TBA
Sun 12/06/09 - Cleveland, OH - Palace Theatre
Tue 12/08/09 - St. Louis, MO - Fabulous Fox Theatre

(video courtesy of Rap Up)

Snoop & Cypress Hill Bring The Smoke With Back To Back NYC Nokia Theatre Shows

Snoop Dogg "Wonderland High School Tour" with Redman & Method Man opening, played the Nokia Theatre Time Square NYC Thursday, October 29.





via Boom Box

Snoop took the stage -- at 10:30PM -- rocking a New York Yankees fitted cap and jacket, and dropped a freestyle over Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind.' Snoop launched into his classics with Kurupt and Daz by his side and let The Dogg Pound run through hits before bringing out Lady of Rage. As expected, Rage got the crowd pumped with 'Afro Puffs.' Snoop took a moment to pay tribute to Tupac Shakur before wrapping up his with all our favorites from 'Ain't No Fun (If the Homies Can't Have None)' to 'Sensual Seduction' and 'Drop It Like It's Hot.'



Just when we thought it couldn't get hazier [see: marijuana clouds], Redman and Method Man led off their set with 'Ayo' off their new album 'Blackout! 2.' Known as the most energetic duo to ever take a stage, Red and Meth took it back to the Nineties with the New Jersey rapper's '93 hit 'Time 4 Sum Aksion' and Method Man's 'Bring the Pain.' Gilla House MC Ready Roc joined Red and Meth on stage and dropped a freestyle, opening the door for Meth associate Streetlife to spit 16 bars for the crowd.

Read the rest of the show review here:
Boombox - Snoop Dogg Takes Over New York With 90-Minute Set

Photos:
Getty Images
Wire Image

Cypress Hill played the Nokia Theatre Time Square NYC Friday, October 30.



Photos:
Getty Images
Wire Image



(Snoop and Redman & Method Man footage courtesy of spotcoffee)
(Cypress Hill footage courtesy of poisonivyjones)

Q-Tip Celebrates Michael Jackson's Birthday With Concert in NYC Video And Photos Posted

Quincy Jones calls in:





Photos:
Film Magic
Getty Images

(video courtesy of bdottm and WinkyDinkyD)

Young Jeezy: ESPY Awards pre-show arrival interview talks new album

75% done with 'Thug Motivation 103', tracks with Kanye, it's looking good that we'll see some new Young Jeezy product out before the close of 2009.

Also according to IMDb, 'Janky Promoters' the comedy movie starting Young Jeezy, Ice Cube and Mike Epps is complete and ready for release in 2009.



(video courtesy of Hip Hollywood)

Mos Def and Talib Kweli at the Nokia Theatre Times Square NYC performance posted

Together again for one of the year's most anticipated performances from these hip hop titans. Saturday May 30 at the Nokia Theatre NYC Times Square.


Black Star in full effect.


*update* Guest at this show included Jean Grae, Corey Smyth, DJ Honda, Damon Dash, Fonworth Bentley, DJ Spinna and Talib's new wife DJ Eque.