Hippity Hoppiters
Posted by Joel Mon, 07 Aug 2006 18:32:00 GMT
I went to Rock the Bells and I regret it. Oh, sure, it gave me lots of names to drop... Del tha Funkee Homosapien, De la Soul, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Immortal Technique. Even Dave Chappelle made a cameo. But in general it was what I really don't like about hip hop. I thought it would be interesting to see a show a bit out of my general category, but I didn't realize it would be an all-day affair. That and lots of artists I didn't like so much -- such as Wu Tang, the headlining act -- made me feel sorely out of place.
It was in Concord, again. I had hoped to never return to the horrible Sleep Train Pavilion, but I rationalized the event by bringing my book and saying "If I don't like it, I can always get drunk." Little did I know that unlike the rock show I had been to previously in Concord, hip hop shows were evidently refused alcohol at their all-day summer events. Sure, alcohol advertisements adorned the refreshments area and seats, but a sign displaying "NO ALCOHOL TODAY" made their feelings on the genre clear. The rappers were surprised at the level of inhibitions at the predominantly white audience, and encouraged us to drink more, evidently oblivious to the discrimination taking place. Well, that and a lot of their performances just sucked, so I can't say audience reaction is that surprising. So I was sober as a judge while I learned that cash rules everything around me. Did I mention Rza wasn't even there? Not that I really care. Aside for a brief appearance in Coffee and Cigarettes bumping his cred, to me he is most memorable as the unfortunate stain on the first Kill Bill soundtrack.
The best acts were Immortal Technique, Del, and Mos Def, in that order.
The cops were out in force afterwards, guarding random things. They'd shut off a local Chevron "on request of the owners". Can't have darkies buying gasoline!
