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Concerts : Seeing the sounds

Concerts

Attention Grabbers : Every once in a while, something grabs my attention, and I have to get the shot. Enjoy...

Attention Grabbers

Chris and Chrissy (Aug 11) : Chris and Chrissy had an amazing ceremony in Oregon. I was able to capture some of their special day. Here are some of my favorites.

Chris and Chrissy (Aug 11)

KRS-ONE, Michael Rose & Sister Carol (Apr 13) : I finally got to see KRS-ONE live. I had seen him almost 20 years ago at a NSBE conference and didn't much of it. He was a great artist, but I was too dumb to realize that he is probably one of the top 5 MC's to ever live. By the time I did, he wasn't on tour near me much at all. So I wait... For years... Then The Shrine announced that he was coming! Nothing was going to keep me away, not even a Monday night show. The opening acts were reggae artists Sister Carol and Michael Rose (from Black Uhuru). Sister Carol has nearly a dozen albums under her belt and did a very long set to open the night. She even did a curtain call. Michael Rose was a bit more of a mellow performer with a mix of fast and slower reggae songs. He even did "One Blood" from his Black Uhuru bandmate Junior Reid (who knew?). The best part about Rose's performance was the exaggerated choreography that is the calling card for all kinds of reggae artists. You don't just walk/march/bounce across the stage... You run over there like Shawn T is telling you to dig deeper and high step from side to side (That's an "Insanity" reference for the sloths among us). The openers each did very long sets which was not cool. They were good performers, but they must have been used to being the headliners. When you are an opener, you have to play your position. Sister Carol's curtain call was excessive given that many in the crowd were already cheering for her to leave before she finished her main set. She was very good on stage, but most had come to see KRS do hip hop, not reggae. Rose did the same thing, but it felt even longer. At one point during the set he even did a song while seated. It seemed like he was tired of his own set. No disrespect to either artist, but KRS' crowd is now a lot older than we were 20 years ago. It would have been nice if he could have come out an hour earlier since we can't run like we used to! That said, KRS' crowd is also more mature than some of the knucklehead crowds that come to hip-hop shows, so everyone showed respect for both openers who have literally been on the scene for decades. KRS was the real deal on stage. His act covered several genres of music - hip-hop, reggae, and even classical. Yes, go to youtube and search "Krs-one classical rap" for a taste. He touched nearly all of his solo and BDP hit in one way or another. It was crazy. As expected "The Teacher" took several moments in his show to teach the crowd. He taught about being a real MC, being spiritual, standing for principles, taking care of your body, and respecting those around you. His views on being a real MC were tight and on point for sure. Despite being a fairly self-absorbed MC on stage (with even reason to be that say - he is the #1 MC of all time in my book), he paid tribute to several other artists by letting their beats go and even dropping a few of their verses as a show of respect. They inculdes: Dead Prez, Tupac, Biggie, Black Rob (Whoa), Wu and others. He also gave love to Chicago's house music history and the Pink House (which I don't know). It's worth mentioning that I didn't catch his hype mans name, but he reminded me of Larenz Tate's character from Menace to Society. One of the nice interludes during the show was a break from the music to poetically teach the crowd about the "3 Yous" (Past, present, and future). Essentially (I'm not going to do this justice), the past You has to be happy the present You because the present You should be trying to be what the past You envisioned. The present You should try to "be a friend" to your future You, by making the decisions today that will keep your body healthy in the future. The future You is looking back on the present You, and hoping that You learned from the past You. I think I followed most of it, and judging from the weed in the air, I think most of the crowd felt they were following it too. KRS did multiple freestyles and a cappella rhymes during the show. For most songs, he let the beat drop just long enough to get us hyped, then told the DJ to cut the music way low so his voice would be all you heard. That's how real MC's who don't need auto-tune and over-produced soundtracks can roll. KRS closed the show by signing autographs on stage and offering to take a photo with EVERYONE in attendance. He is, to me, the best MC of all time. Hopefully the pix will do him justice 8-) #GOAT

KRS-ONE, Michael Rose & Sister Carol (Apr 13)

I finally got to see KRS-ONE live. I had seen him almost 20 years ago ...

Updated: Apr 26, 2013 6:51am PST