Best tour of the year
The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman - Woodlands, TX - Sat, Jun 11, 2016
Posted 06/16/2016by Lexxavier This Fan's Reviews
When I bought tickets for the Boom Bash 2 Festival, I knew it was going to be a good show, but I didn't realize just how good. I heard Naughty By Nature put on a clinic of a show on SiriusXm Backspin one afternoon, broadcast live from Washington, D.C., so I knew they were going to be good. I've also seen MC Lyte popping up in a lot of places lately, and she always brings her A-game, so I knew she would kill as well. And I've seen Rakim a few times, and he's always dependable. But everything else was up in the air.
Would Daryl Mac's voice be as strong as it used to? I'd seen a lot of interviews in the last several years where he could barely talk, so that was a question mark. Could Bone get it together and put on a show where they were all in sync? Over the years, various members have had various problems, especially Bizzy, so this was a concern. And I'd never seen DJ Quik before, so I had no idea how he'd be.
I shouldn't have worried. The whole show was solid, top to bottom. We got there about an hour after it was supposed to start, so we missed Monie Love, if she was there. And we only caught the last part of the last song from MC Lyte, but she sounded good. After that, it was DJ Quik. I knew a few of his songs, but I wasn't a big fan. He was solid. After that, came Naughty By Nature. Like I said, I had heard them on Ed Lover's Backspin station, so I knew they could rock a party, and they delivered. Treach paused a few times to get deep, and that was cool, too. But for the most of their time, they were bringing a non-stop block party. They played all of their hits, plus a medley / tribute to Biggie and Pac that brought the house down. Now, the place was getting turned up.
Next was Bone. All I can say is, "Wow." They were so together, it made you wonder how many hours a day they had to practice. Harmonizing and mirroring on lyrics so fast, most people can't even understand what they're saying without lyrics or a screw tape. And they never missed a word or a beat. Not only that, they also had a middle section of the show where they paid tribute to the late-greats - Eazy, Pac, and Biggie - by playing a few verses from each ("Boyz In the Hood," "California Love," and "Juicy"), and then they segued from "Juicy" into "Notorious Thugs," and the place went wild. While every artist at this show was great, I think Bone may have been the highlight.
Then came the moment everyone was waiting for: Run D.M.C. What can I say? They're legends for a reason. I saw so many classic Run D.M.C. shirts at the show all day, I knew they were going to get love from the crowd. But when they came on stage and launched into "It's Like That," the place exploded. They were on fire. For the next 15-20 minutes, it was a non-stop barrage of old-school hits. After that, it slowed down a bit. You could tell Rev Run was getting a little tired - he is over 50, and their songs require a lot of energy - but they kept giving the crowd the hits, in between signing memorabilia for the audience and talking with the crowd.
My only complaint is that the talking went on a little bit too long in places. They had two DJ's (one was Jam Master Jay's son), so why didn't they lean more on their DJ's? Have them spin an old school mix or two in between songs (with snippets of other classic artists's songs like "The Message," "La-Di-Da-Di," "The Breaks," etc.). Run DMC did have one DJ set from Jay's son, where he played a tribute to Houston Hip-Hop. I just think they could have done some more of that, and people might have liked it more than listening to Rev Run talk for sometimes up to five minutes at a time. No disrespect to Rev Run, but it just would have been more entertaining. Anyway, the show was still amazing.
After that was Rakim. Rakim is not the kind of artist who interacts with the crowd much, so a lot of people left during his set. The people who were left, though, were digging on his show, grooving, nodding, and rapping along to nearly everything he played. He is a legend, and just like with any Rakim show, it was obvious why - he's got better mic skills than 90% of MC's out there, past or present. And if that's what you came to see - a great MC killing rhyme after rhyme - Rakim will give you your money's worth and leave you paid in full.
Anyway, from beginning to end, this was one of the best tours I've seen in the last few years - definitely the best of the year, so far. I got my tickets for $25, which is crazy when I think about it, because I would have paid anywhere from $15-30 for any one of these artists individually. Talk about a deal. And H-Town's own Bushwick Bill even showed up to drop a verse or two. Seriously, if you get the chance to go to another Boom Bash, don't sleep. This was a party that rocked everybody out of their seats. Oh, and one more thing: Ed Lover was hilarious, as usual. Can't wait for next year.
Favorite moment: Bone Thugs performing a tribute to Eazy, Pac, and Biggie. Crazy good.
https://www.ticketmaster.com/RunDMC-tickets/artist/771663
